


All That Was Me is Gone

by Emono



Series: Monsters-R-Us [1]
Category: Rooster Teeth/Achievement Hunter RPF
Genre: Alternate Universe - Creatures & Monsters, Body Worship, Breeding Kink, Dominance, Dubious Consent, Emono Does Halloween Right, Explicit Sexual Content, Figuring out mermaid genitals, Flesh eating, Gore, Hermaphrodites, Loss of Virginity, M/M, Masturbation, Mates, Mermaids, Minor Character Death, Pregnancy Kink, Rape/Non-con Elements, Ray fucks a mermaid is what I'm saying, Rimming, Teenage Drama, Violence, Virginity Kink, Voyeurism, Water Magic, Water Sex, and Gavin doesn't have a soul and acts accordingly, mermaid!gavin, sorry for what I did with Caleb, soul eating
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-10-13
Updated: 2016-03-12
Packaged: 2018-02-20 23:30:06
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 5
Words: 30,599
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2447069
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Emono/pseuds/Emono
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Ray is a normal teenage boy, except he isn't, because he has nothing in common with his peers. They're disgusting and rowdy and practically animals. There's a disconnect that makes him uneasy and, worse, lonely. He wants to belong somewhere, he really does, but the only solace he can find is by himself on the lake. The water is calm, and holds many secrets. And when Caleb starts getting fresh, Ray finds out just what kind of secrets they are.</p><p>How deep does the water go? And what lives within it?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. It's Not Just Camping

Going camping at the nearest lake to their small New York suburb hadn’t exactly been a part of Ray’s ideal weekend. But his mom was always asking him to be more social and to do more than play Call of Duty every day after school. He tried to explain to her that his gamer score was more important than the losers he found himself surrounded with at school but she was baffled, having been the social butterfly in high school and voted for a dozen different ‘Most Likely To’s. She couldn’t understand that he didn’t care much about his life because everything was the same – same school, same classes, same classmates, same food, same boring life. It wasn’t that he didn’t fit in but after getting bullied all through middle school he found a way to make himself small and invisible. But safe didn’t equal quality of life. The stagnant feeling seemed to grow deeper and stronger through every school session, every holiday break, every summer spent alone. There were a gang of boys at his school who he sort of palled around with and played video games with but they weren’t his friends. He couldn’t talk to them, not about important stuff, and they were crude and loud like regular teenage boys.

 

How could Ray explain to his mother that he was somehow defective? That he was going through the motions just so he didn’t look like even more of a freak?

 

So when the guys bought a bunch of expensive hiking equipment and really nice tents and a boat, Ray gave in and packed a bag. There was about a dozen of them all together but they brought enough booze to fuel a whole army. Ray didn’t drink so he stopped having a good time about four hours in. They had a camper and four really nice tents, a generator, bug candles, lots of snacks, and a couple of the newest video games that they rigged up a system so that a couple could play at a time. None of that was worth having to deal with a small herd of drunk teenage boys. Instead he wandered off a bit from camp and played on his DS.

 

Ray found one near the lake and settled into the brush for a Pokemon marathon. It was easy to play and ate up time, good nostalgic pangs going through him as he remembered what it was like to really enjoy himself as a child. He kept glancing at the water and found some calm in the way it lapped at the shore, clear at the edges but growing murkier as you went out. He’d seen on the map that this lake trickled in spaces but it eventually reached the ocean, and a quick search on his phone told him that about fifty years ago the connection had been much stronger before the land started getting cleared and plowed for more highways and housing.

 

He wouldn’t doubt it for a second given the natural beauty of this small, protected bit of area. There was a real camping site a little less than a mile away, some trails and hills to climb, but ten miles in any direction would get you straight back into suburbia. It was sad but it made this place even more special. He’d been here a few times when he was younger but his dad had never let him anywhere near the water, though he wasn’t sure why. There were always the rumors of missing kids and teens but that was just gossip for the city people, a little thrill to add to their outdoor activities.

 

No one really called it a haunted lake or anything, but the implied danger was there.

 

There was a plop somewhere in front of him and he hit the wrong button, attacking the wild Pokemon he was supposed to be catching and killing it instantly. He huffed through his nose and looked around for the source of the sound, heart picking up at the thought of a predator. Instead he saw strong ripples in the water, flowing out from one certain spot near the shore. At first he thought it was a fat fish or a toad but then something caught in the silent. He wracked his brain for an explanation but his body had other plans. He saved and tucked the DS into his hoodie before he got to his feet and walked over to where the ripples were disappearing. It was close, strangely close, and he squinted to try and figure out what it was. A turtle or…?

 

“Dude,” Ray breathed out loud, dropping to one knee in the damp earth. He rucked his sleeves up and put one hand in the water to brace himself in the sand and mud. The other dipped beneath the surface and scooped up what he could only assume made the _plop_. It was rounded and oval, spiraling in on itself and swirling with a mix pearly white and tans and shades of orange. He held it up to the sun and it gleamed brilliantly. It was beyond pretty. There was something about it…the shell seemed smoother than the water could make it. Or, at least, shinier. Like it was rubbed down with something to make it so beautiful.

 

Ray swept a curious gaze across the water as he pocketed the shell next to his DS, not caring if the droplets of water soaked into the system. He felt like he was being watched but he couldn’t even hear his friends anymore and he was out of the way of other suburban campers. Was it in the water? There was _something_ beneath the surface. Maybe, at least. It was hard to tell with the sun bouncing off the surface. Something tugged at him, coaxing him forward, and soon he had both knees in the water. His jeans started soaking it up but he didn’t care, eyes trained on a spot just a few feet from him. It could’ve been a log or a huge fish – or, shit, snapping turtle – but he wanted to know. He _had_ to know. The boy stretched out his arm as far as it would go, straining, his other hand sinking deeper into cold mud and water lapping at his forearm, then his elbow. Soon it started soaking his thighs, threatening to touch his stomach and chest as he reached across the water.

 

He was so close…so _close_ …

 

“Yo, Brownman, what the hell are you doing?”

 

“Fucking shit!” Ray cursed, reeling back and wobbling unsteadily before regaining his balance. He was soaked up to his thighs and elbows, the faintest wet spot on his hoodie to show how close he was to ruining his DS. He got up and sloshed the few feet to dry land, shaking himself a little to get the icy droplets off. One of the guys, Miles, was calling to him with a dopey grin.

 

“Dude, there’s food. Caleb said to come get you.”

 

Ray scowled at the boy’s name. “Well, tell _Caleb_ that I’m not his fucking girlfriend and that I’ll come back when I’m hungry.”

 

Miles raised a brow. “Dude.”

 

Ray stomped the water out of his shoes for a moment and scowled at the squish. “Okay, I’m hungry.”

 

~

 

Ray stayed up late that night in the tent he shared with Caleb, waiting until the older boy was asleep for sure before he pulled out the shell he’d found in the water. There was an open flap like a netted sunroof above his head and the moonlight spilling in made the treasure shine just like it had earlier. He rolled it between his fingers, thumb tracing the swirls and dipping in the crevice as if he could wiggle it inside.

 

Ray wasn’t sure what happened but he found himself humming a few minutes later, eye closed and shell clutched to his chest. He stopped and blinked into the semi-darkness, listening intently for whatever music he’d been going along to. But there was nothing, just he quiet of the night. He could’ve sworn he heard something…like faint violin, a trace of flute, background singing.

 

Maybe he got a song stuck in his head and it was so quiet he actually thought he heard it?

 

But when he tried to figure out what song it was his mind was strangely blank.

 

Ray tucked the shell away and tried his best to go to sleep, but he’d be lying if he said his ears weren’t primed and ready to hear even one note of the song.

 

~

 

The next day was even more alcohol-infused than the last. It seemed that his friends were ready to start drinking the moment they woke up. Though Ray hung back and people watched, there was lots of soccer matches on shore and wrestling and swimming that quickly turned competitive. The guys filed in and out of the camper for the latest Halo and cooked up the brauts and burgers that were in the cooler. Ray wished that he could be as obnoxiously happy as the others. It wasn’t that he was sad or having a bad time, it was just that he didn’t find it as fun as they did and it only enforced his defective feelings.

 

After whooping them all on Halo, Ray put on a pair of shorts and a short sleeved shirt to head out to the water. He left his shoes and socks on the grass and waded out. He’d found some smooth stones earlier and was going to try and skip them, though he had no idea if that kind of stuff actually worked. There was a patch of seaweed in the area that clung to his ankles and calves in a light, ticklish way. He started tossing them with little success though he found more of the same kind in the water around his feet. Large, jutting rocks stuck out of the water, years of current making them sleek and sharp.

 

“Hey.”

 

Ray’s shoulders went tense but otherwise he didn’t acknowledge Caleb as he walked up. The guy was alright. He was always happy and grinning, cute in the way girls liked, with dimples that softened up his face. He was smart and played Ultimate Frisbee on a high skill level, he rocked COD, and was just a bit bigger than Ray so it would make sense that he would like him. At least, in Caleb’s mind. His friend had been pursuing him on the down-low for a couple weeks now. If anyone at school found out they’d both be labeled faggots and they knew it. Ray didn’t care, he had nothing to lose, but Caleb was stone-cold scared. He knew he’d be kicked off the baseball and Frisbee teams for one reason or another that the administrators would claim was because of grades or performance. Their “friends” would abandon them.

 

Ray liked Caleb enough to risk it, to try, but the other didn’t feel the same way and that had soured anything that could’ve grown between them. But Caleb was persistent and handsy, and for some reason particularly good at finding moments when no one was looking. Like right now.

 

“Did you get enough to eat this morning?” Caleb asked, rolling up his pants and grinning at the younger boy.

 

“I think I can feed myself,” Ray scoffed.

 

“I’m just looking out for you.”  


That had been his line for the past two weeks. Taking care of him, watching out for him, being there for him – things Caleb fucking _knew_ his distant parents had never done. They weren’t neglectful but in a moment of weakness Ray had tried to explain to Caleb just how alone he truly felt by being so different. The older boy had been using it against him ever since, acting like some sort of creepy daddy/boyfriend hybrid that left a bad taste in Ray’s mouth. It seemed like every day their friendship faded a little more and a new, ugly bitterness grew between them.

  
Caleb started wading out to him and he wanted to growl, maybe throw a rock at his stupidly adorable head. At one point he’d had such a big crush and now those feelings were filled with embarrassing resentment. His knuckles grew white around the stone as the older boy got closer to him.

 

“Ray…” Caleb said so tenderly, reaching out and twining their fingers over the small rock, “I wish you weren’t being like this. We’d be so good together, man.”  


“Why would you want to be with a fucking faggot like me?” Ray shot back.

 

Caleb winced like he’d been hit. “You’re not a…Jesus, dude, don’t say that.”  


“That’s what I am,” Ray defended, lips pursed in a tight white line. “I’m a cocksucker, a faggot. I’m what you’re so afraid of being.”

 

“It’s so different for us,” the other hushed. “You don’t have anything on the line. I’ve got my life, a scholarship, and the rest of senior year. You’re a junior, man, you have no idea the pressure on me to decide what I want to do with the rest of my life.”

 

“You want to talk about pressure?” Ray started but stopped the moment he heard footsteps. What looked like their entire group crashed through the tree line and stomped out toward the shore with whoops of greeting. The boy started to pull away but Caleb panicked and snatched the rock from his hand, shoving his lean forearm straight into his chest. Ray went sprawling backward, trudging noisily and clumsily through the water as his arms flailed out for something to hold onto. He hit a rock and clung to it but cried out when his palm sliced along one of the edges.

 

“Too slow, Brownman!” Caleb declared.

 

“Oh come on, man, don’t pick on the kid,” Miles groused, gesturing at the wincing boy.

 

“Yeah, asshole,” Josh added with a frown.

 

“For fuck’s sakes,” Ray groaned, shoving his palm in the icy water. He knew it was probably stuffed full of chemicals and bacteria but he didn’t care because it was like he’d grabbed a razor blade. He braced himself on the blunt part of the rock jut, forehead pressed to the cool stone as he let his hand soak.

 

_Stupid fucking Caleb, that fuckhead. This is going to get infected, I just know it. I shouldn’t have come. I’m never going to let these assholes convince me to go anywhere ever again._

 

Ray’s mental ramble was cut short when the seaweed brushing his hand suddenly got thicker and a lot less slimy, and maybe sentient. He bristled as something solid dragged over his cut, tugging the rim and making it tingle in a way he couldn’t describe as unpleasant. Realizing he probably just shook hands with a fish, Ray ripped his hand out of the water and clutched it to his chest.

 

“My watch,” Ray glared at his naked wrist, “It’s gone. Caleb, you piece of shit, find my fucking watch!”

 

Caleb looked hurt as he tossed the stone away. “Fine your own watch.”

 

Miles started coming toward the water, shedding his shirt. “You need help, Narvaez?”

 

“No,” Ray bit out. “I don’t need anyone’s help. Just fuck off, okay?”

 

“Let’s go, guys, Brownwoman’s having her period,” Chris joked crudely. “Fuck it. Who has a football?”

 

They all left, some glancing back but none of them deciding to stay. Even Caleb disappeared through the trees. Ray blinked back the hot sting of tears before he started wading through the water that was up above his knees. He had to dunk himself a few times which only pissed him off more and his watch was definitely gone.

 

Soaked and shaking from the cold, Ray made his way back to camp.

 

~

 

That night, Ray was gently shaken awake by his tent mate. He glared at Caleb and tried to go back to sleep but the other was pouting and pulling puppy eyes at him. He followed the now-smiling boy outside, both of them gleaming a bit from their near-matching basketball shorts. Caleb had a plastic bag of snacks and led him by the hand, promising a good time. After Ray stopped yawning he realized they were heading to the lake.

 

“Caleb, what the hell?”

 

“Shut up, dude. Just enjoy it.”  


The silver boat that had been on top of the camper was now bobbing in the shallow water. It was tied to a log with the oars inside, an electric lamp placed on one of the seats. Ray complained but he went along, feeling kind of touched at the sentiment. He was helped inside with a childish _my lady_ that got Caleb a punch to the shoulder. But the younger teen sat down on one end while Caleb settled on the other, moving the lamp behind him before picking up the oars. It was a little rough at first but once they hit the deeper water it smoothed out. The athlete showed his muscle as he cut across the surface with broad strokes.

 

They stopped toward the middle of the lake, the oars set aside as the boat came to a slow stop. There was an island about a mile away that he was hoping to explore sometime this week but he wanted to do it alone. They dug through the bag and divided up the food, boyish metabolisms keeping them hungry even so late at night. Caleb unscrewed the top off his Camelbak and tossed the straw aside along with the sip lip, cracking open some strong wine and pouring it inside.

 

“Romantic,” Caleb pointed out, waggling his eyebrows.

 

“You big fucking nerd,” Ray laughed softly, fishing out a warm Coke to wash down his pretzels. He leaned back on his hands and looked to the stars, sighing happily and munching along. It was insanely peaceful out here on the water, so quiet without the chirp of crickets and rustle of creatures. His companion was unusually silent and he decided to enjoy it while it lasted.

 

He had an off thought of staying there forever. Of living out here – on top of the water, beneath the stars, blanketed between the two. Nothing and everything, both at once. A type of living limbo but much more fulfilling than the life he was living now. To feel this kind of serenity instead of the melancholy he usually suffered from when the walls of his room started to close in on him. This night felt full of potential and rich while it had always come off stale through his window.

 

It was the kind of night where anything could happen and magic was real.

 

Ray closed his eyes and took full, deep breaths. The chill of the night and the water mixed up in his lungs and he basked in it. Then a hand wrapped around his knee and he had to sigh for another reason. “Motherfucker.”

 

“Ray, listen,” Caleb still spoke softly, as if his voice would carry across the water to their sleeping friends. “I care about you so much, man. We've known each other for years and you're so...”

 

“I'm so _what_ , Caleb?” Ray pressed, arms crossed over his chest. The older boy knelt down in front of him and ran his hands along his arms, dimpled smile turned up full force.

 

“No one's ever made me feel this way,” Caleb confessed. “I've never looked at another guy before you and I don't think I ever will. I could be so good to you.”

 

Ray's heart ached deep in his chest. “But not in front of anyone.”

  
“What's so wrong with it being a secret?” Caleb begged, the razor edge of desperation in his voice now. “It could be fun. A real thrill, you know? I could sneak into you room at night, be gone before your parents get up...we could kiss at the windowsill like all those young adult books talk about? We could pass notes.” There was childish delight in his eyes as his fingers snuck up and fanned across Ray's chest, the younger boy's breath hitching. “You could blow me in the back of my Camero after practice and I could fuck you during lunch in the Bio lab. Doesn't that sound fun?”

 

“Sucking your sweaty dick and taking it up the ass so I can be hungry for the rest of the day? Yeah, tons of fun,” Ray drawled, shaking the man's hands off. “Fuck off, man. If you brought me out here to fuck me, you can forget it.”

 

Caleb looked hurt before his lips twisted up in a smirk. “You're playing hard to get. Okay, I'll bite. You're so cute, dude.”

 

Ray snarled when the older boy tried to kiss him. He slapped his hand over Caleb's mouth and shoved him back into his own seat. He sure as hell didn't want his first kiss to be with someone who was ashamed to be seen with him. “If you don't want to kiss me in front of your friends, then you can't kiss me at all.”

 

“You always do this,” Caleb huffed. “You always talk like you're different from the group. News flash, _Brownman_ , you're one of us.”

 

“I am _nothing_ like you guys,” Ray defended hotly.

 

“Bullshit!”

 

“You're fucking gross and obnoxious and the way you talk about girls makes me want to throw up on my shoes,” Ray growled out, pushing the athlete away when he tried to go in for another kiss. “Dude!”

 

“Come _on_.”

 

“You 'come on', you fucking dick!” Ray shoved the boy's creeping hands off his thighs and stood up, red faced and glaring. “Just because you think we'd be good together or whatever doesn't mean you get to do whatever you want! I'm a person, asshole. Just because I'm a dude and you're a dude doesn't mean this is easier than anything else. I'm not going to roll over for you. I'm not one of your stupid bimbos and-”

 

Caleb stood up in the boat, water sloshing loudly as the older boy towered over him. His eyes were suddenly very sharp and his scowl was an ugly slash across his face.

 

“C-Caleb?”

 

“I don't get you,” Caleb finally snapped, high cheekbones flushed as his hands balled into fists. “You're all shy and quiet and then you're this stupid hothead? I don't know what kind of game you're playing. First you love me and now – fuck, Ray, maybe I don't get it.”

 

A wicked gleam grew in the usually happy boy's eyes.

 

“Maybe you need to cool off.”

 

Ray cried out, the sound echoing off the lake as his friend shoved him so hard he got picked up off his feet. He reached out wildly, fingers clawing at nothing as his vision filled with stars. He thought of how strong Caleb was before the icy wash of water surrounded him. It shocked his system and he thrashed uselessly, muscles seizing up and cramps flicking through his limbs until they were useless. Ray was still screaming when he hit the water and he sucked in some, teeth throbbing at the cold and throat spasming as he choked. He sputtered and twisted in on himself, bubbles erupting from his lips. He felt his glasses floating away from his face as he tried to kick his legs, brain going blank from panic but enough of his functions there to remind him he needed air. His fingers and toes went numb and the sensation raced up his skin and seeped deep into his bones.

 

It was quick but the moment stretched on forever.

 

_No, please, God, not now. Not like this._

 

Something bumped his hip, his back, knocking him in the knees. More precious bubbles escaped at the terrifying thought of a shark in the lake or some kind of Loch Ness monster or an angry dolphin. He opened his eyes and everything was blurry and green. He threw his head up, tingling fingers stretching up high to touch the surface, but he was too far down. And his legs weren't working.

 

_I'm going to die._

 

Ray's face strained in agony, lungs feeling the size of a quarter inside his ribs. There was nothing to breathe in but chilly water and algae. His nose burned and he had to shut his eyes because they felt _seared_. There was so much compression and he was sure everything inside him would start to shrivel and crack soon if he didn't do something. _Anything_.

 

He wasn't sure how but something caught his head in a vice, five distinct points of pressure digging in his hair and cheeks to hold him still. His mouth was seized and he jerked when he realized it was a pair of lips. In a way, at least, like how he daydreamed when he thought of kissing. They were wet and salty against his own, burning him up through his jaw and down into his throat.

 

Like flames, but _freezing_.

 

Unseen by him, a water pulse escaped the seal of their lips and radiated out into the water. Something firm and thick wrapped around his legs to still his useless kicking, holding him. He popped his eyes open and there was a glow in the cheeks of whatever was latched to his lips. Wide, black eyes stared at him. A thin set of lids slid over them, then another thicker pair – whatever it was in front of him, it was _blinking_.  


The rush of oxygen that hit his lungs made him black out.

 


	2. Saved By Magic

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ray escapes the lake by a magical being who shouldn't exist. And he's beautiful.

Ray coughed wetly, sputters of murky lake water dribbling down his lips. Sand mushed through his fingers as he crawled through the shallow shore, waves still lapping at his thighs and forearms as he tried to figure out just where he was. The moon was fat and nearly full in the sky now that the clouds weren't shielding it. The light cut through the dark and shadows to make it easier to see. Except everything was blurry from the sting of icy water, tears, and the loss of glasses. He was shivering and soaked to the bone, clothes clinging tight to his sopping skin.

 

He had no idea how he had gotten here. The last thing he remembered was being deep in the lake. Now, as he squinted and looked around, he couldn't see the glow of the camp or what little came from the lamp on Caleb's boat. He would've called out for his friend but he remembered how the bastard had shoved him in the water without a second thought.

 

“Asshole,” he sputtered, wincing before coughing out another bout of water that had been slicking his throat. The choking sensation reminded him of how close he'd been of drowning. Every inch of him was sore and limp from the exertion. The sting of water on his skin, the blackness of the lake, the threat of collapsing lungs – he gasped just thinking about it.

 

The smooth surface of the water broke with a splash and something – _someone_ – emerged.

  
Ray cried out in shock and flopped around to face the creature, hands buried deep in the sand and bracing his weight. He gaped, mind blank, a fresh wave of water seeping into his underwear and shoes. He couldn't believe it. This couldn't be happening. This was a dream – maybe a nightmare – but he wasn't waking up. He couldn't move, shocked into stillness, his fight of flight fucking out on him.

 

“Christ,” he cursed softly, lower lip quivering.

 

It was a person (in a way). Slim muscles were laced well over it's form, the jut of it's hips and collarbone sharper than it would've been on a regular man. It's skin was blue-grey like a shark, patches of actual scales along it's belly and elbows. There were silver stripes laced over it's arms and neck, some even wrapping over the curve of it's shoulders and torso. Darkened grey slits were on it's throat, three on each side, and it took Ray just a long moment to figure out they were gills. Pointy ears, much like an Elf or a anime mermaid, stuck out slightly from it's head all long and slightly webbed towards the ends. It's ( _'his', yeah, definitely a dude_ ) hair was wild and golden brown, drying surprisingly quickly in the cool night air. This abnormal skin was smooth all over, cheekbones a little pronounced but not inhumanely so. His lips, though thin, were shell pink. The only hair he had that wasn't on his head was above his large, inky black eyes.

 

The creature blinked, two sets of lids flicking quickly over his eyes.

 

“You,” Ray breathed, “You were down there.”

 

The man moved closer until he was in the shallows as well. Ray blanched when he saw how the creature's nice hips faded into soft scales, and those scales grew thicker and more broad. A tail. He had a _tail_ . It was darker than his skin and long, tapering down into a thinner point like a snake. Except for there was...something like _fins_ on each side. They were thin and muscular like the flaps of a manta ray. They fluttered gracefully in fluid waves under his gaze. More sliver streaks twisted around the thickest of the tail, growing larger as they spiraled down to the very tip.

 

The creature reached out for him and Ray panicked, a grabbing a stick out of the water and taking a swing. “Get away!”

 

The creature drew back with a hiss and all those silver streaks bloomed out away from his body, suddenly sharp as steel and gleaming in the moonlight. Barbs. It was unmistakable and straight fro his biology textbook. They were dangerous, maybe even poisonous. Ray started trembling when he spotted the mouth full of serrated teeth, more human than he would've thought but razor sharp and pointed to a degree. The hand that it had pulled back had thin, see-through webbing up to the first knuckle and the fingers had nails that were curved in subtle points.

 

It sniffed the air and whined pitifully, brows pinching up as the barbs folded back into it's skin. It dug around in the water and brought out two objects, offering them with a bowed head. On top of those smooth, finely-lined palms were his glasses (intact) and his waterlogged watch.

 

He could only stare at them at first, too scared to go for them or else lose some fingers, but the man kept making those kicked-puppy sounds and his heart kind of ached in sympathy. The submissive posture...maybe the creature was apologizing? Was he sorry he scared him? Could he – could he _smell_ fear? Sweat and chemicals and increased blood pressure, the same things predators could sense in prey. He couldn't help but think this was some sort of trap but if the dude was going to kill him he could do it with or without Ray having his glasses.

 

So Ray sloshed about a foot closer and plucked up his glasses, doing his best to wipe the droplets away so he could really see the creature in front of him. Though it was weird and kind of fucked up, he thought the man was beautiful in an exotic kind of way. Like those pretty mermaids that Disney made but deadlier, more real. Still hesitant, he tried for his watch next.

 

The creature was lightning fast. Ray's hand was seized between both of his clawed ones, the watch plopping back into the water as he tried to pull away. But the man was strong, much stronger than him. There was a soaked bandage wrapped around his palm to cover the cut he'd gotten from the sharp rock with Caleb and the claw on the creature's thumb sliced through it with terrifying ease. Ray refused to look as his hand was devoured by those shark teeth but all he felt was a smooth, wet nuzzle across his palm. There was no pain, from the creature or the cut.

 

Ray raked in his courage and opened his eyes. The man was nuzzling his palm, eyes closed, short lashes flicking as he seemed to savor the contact. When the creature pulled away there was just a thick pink line across his palm, a healing scar as if the wound were a couple months old.

 

“What the hell?” Ray awed. He flexed his fingers and there was no pain. He hadn't really paid attention to it after he'd put on the numbing cream and gauze. The creature chirped before his ivory white tongue darted out and dragged over the scar. The sensation was familiar. “That was _you_? Dude...”

 

Then he thought of something else.

 

“And you gave me air down there. You...you kissed me?”

 

He touched his lips with his free hand. “Wow.”

 

Ray was struck by a violent cough, hand clamping over this mouth to smother the sound. His eyes teared up as the feeling of trying to hack up a lung burned through him. There was a churning of water before a hand laid flat on his chest, the solid weight of the merman pushing between his legs. The creature's face was close to his own, eyes curious and moving as if looking him over. There was a tingling deep inside around his heart and spreading through his lungs. He watched a fine curl of mist leave his lips.

 

And just like _that_ the choking sensation was gone.

 

“You saved me,” Ray realized as the webbed fingers moved off his chest. “So, what? You licked my hand? What you did to my chest...and breathing under water...how did you do that?”

 

“Ma- _gic_.”

 

The word was gurgled as if the creature's lungs were full of water. The sharper letters were _popped_ as if sticking in his throat. It was a rough, unused sound and it scared the hell out of him. Ray jumped at the word but managed to keep himself from making any frightened noises.

 

“I didn't think you could talk,” Ray explained, forcing his heart to calm down. “Can you understand me?”

 

The creature nodded slowly.

 

“Can you speak, uh, _English_?”

 

The creature frowned briefly, fingers coming up to touch his own throat. “Hard.”

 

“Don't strain yourself, man,” Ray insisted, thumb running over his healed hand. “Magic...wow. Okay, I can deal with this. No freaking out. This is normal, right? You save drowning dudes a lot, right?”

 

He got a 'no' head shake.

 

“So I'm special?”

 

The creature nodded very quickly, smiling.

 

“Hurrah for me,” Ray swiped his hair back off his forehead. “Thank you. Seriously. I would've died, man. You saved my life.”

 

A heavy hand settled on his knee, thumb stroking over it. There was a reverent look on his face, like he was admiring his legs.

 

“I'm Ray,” the human stated, putting his palm on his chest in a Tarzan parody. The creature examined the gesture and mimicked it with a series of clicks. “Sorry, I'm rusty in echolocation.”

 

Ray laughed at his own joke but stopped when he realized the other was lost on his humor. “Do you have a human name, dude? Like, what do people like me call you?”

 

“Monster,” the creature gurgled with a sneer.

 

Ray's heart strings were tugged. “Well fuck _them_. You're a hero. Have you ever had human friends.”

 

Another nod.

 

“What did they call you?”

 

The merman crawled up further through the shallows. Ray followed him up to the thin, sandy stretch at beach. There was an encouraging chirp and gesture for the human to come up beside him. A single damp finger began making lines in the sand. Ray wasn't sure what they were at first but it started coming together toward the end.

 

_Gavin._

 

“Gavin,” Ray repeated out loud.

 

The creature, Gavin, smiled widely and nodded his head.

 

“Ray,” the boy stated, touching his chest, moving it after a minute to touch the merman's own. “Gavin. Just out of the Disney movies.”

 

The merman looked down at his hand with wide eyes, ears visibly twitching and manta ray-like flaps shifting in excited waves.

 

“Ma...ma...”

 

“ _Ma_...?” Ray drew out the long 'a', trying to help. Gavin just ducked his head, clearly embarrassed by the way the word stuck to the roof of his mouth.

 

“Don't worry about it, Gavin. We're friends, right?” Ray encouraged, retracting his hand. “Friends don't judge. Your English is just rough. We can work on it.”

 

Gavin looked up hopefully, ears twitching again.

 

“You're adorable,” Ray confessed with a blush. “I wish there was a way to share how grateful I am. You probably wouldn't appreciate a kiss. I'm not really Ariel or anything. Not even a cute girl.”

 

Gavin managed to perk up even more. “Kiss?”

 

“ _Oh_. You know what that is?” His cheeks and ears burned hotter. “I was kind of joking. I mean, I haven't kissed a lot of people and I always imagined they'd be less...scaley. Not that it's a hardship, you're a nice looking mermaid – mer _man_ , sorry. And all those teeth, man. But if you wanted me to, sure, I'll just...hold still. I guess.”

 

Ray's mind was a loud buzz of _wrong_ and _wonderful_ as he scooted closer to the creature. Gavin gave a curious chirp but didn’t move away, hand still resting on the human’s knee. Ray made sure the man wasn’t going to move before he pecked a brief kiss on his lips. They were a little dry but they gave wonderfully under his touch. It was his first kiss and there was no regret. It didn’t taste strange and it was brief, sweet, and he tingled all over from the contact. A minor hysterical giggle bubbled out of him but he put a lid on it pretty quickly. He took in the moment. They were on a shallow beach in the middle of the night, moon high and stars breaking through the smog that came from the city. The water was crystal clear around them, growing muddier as it went out, and the air was fresh.

 

“Never thought my first kiss would be like this,” Ray mused, savoring it.

 

“Kiss?” Gavin’s brow furrowed up, the merman strangely expressive. “First? Only?”

 

“Yeah, that’s…oh, man, you probably don’t know,” Ray frowned. “That was a human kiss. I don’t know how you do it, but that’s the only way I know how. And it’s my first, my only. I’ve never really done it before.”

 

A purr escaped the merman, the sound saturated and rough.

 

“Does that make you happy?” Ray questioned hesitantly.

 

Gavin nodded, putting a finger to his lips and shaking his head. “Not kiss. Eat. Magic.”

 

“Oh, okay,” the boy nodded along, starting to understand. “That makes sense. We eat with our mouths too and talk and stuff but it’s a human thing to touch lips. It’s intimate, like for people who _really_ like each other.”

 

“Intimate?” Gavin echoed, struggling with all the syllables.

 

Ray scratched back his hair again. “For more than friends. It can be a ‘thank you’ too. It’s complicated, but it means you like someone a lot. I like you a lot for saving me and not eating me.”

 

“Ray,” Gavin tisked, closing that last bit of distance between them. Ray jumped a little when two solid hands cupped his head, a copy of what had opened under water. “Give kiss?”

 

“You want to give me one?” Ray made himself relax, reminding himself that if the merman wanted to kill him he would’ve done so already. “Okay. Is it going to hurt?”

 

Gavin shook his head reassuringly.

 

“Thank God. Go ahead, man.”

 

Gavin brushed their cheeks slowly, first one then the other. It made him tingle like the kiss had and left his skin warm. The merman’s eyes were closed and every motion was deliberate, a build up, but to what he wasn’t sure. “Ray.”

 

“I’m right here.” He felt compelled to reply, to assure his friend that he wasn’t upset or uncomfortable.

 

Their foreheads touched and it was like getting punched in the face but somehow the best thing he’d ever felt. He jolted in the merman’s grip and cried out in shock and pleasure, pure electric heat pouring from the point of contact and down into his neck and spine until it pooled in his fingers and numb toes. The same song he’d heard the other night in the tent came back to him at full volume. It was no longer a sleepy lullaby but a high pitched crescendo that crashed over him, sinking into his very flesh and making it hum. It was like sticking his tongue in a light socket or eating a sparkler, small burning crackles bursting inside of him to the point where he was sure he would explode. And when they stopped he felt drained and slumped into the merman.

 

Gavin welcomed him with open arms, cradling his head and the small of his back. Ray panted into the creature's chest, suddenly exhausted and boneless from the “kiss”. The comforting little clicks and coos that came from his friend soothed his fried eardrums, strong fingers petting him like a startled animal. Strangely, he liked it. He hugged the merman back and let himself enjoy all the strong muscle and muddy water scent.

 

“That was intense,” Ray tried to joke but even he had to admit he sounded wrecked.

 

“Kiss.” The end of Gavin's claws skimmed up the back of his neck. “Good?”

 

“Different,” he admitted.

 

“Different is...good?”

 

Ray pushed himself up and smiled into the creature's face. “Dude, Gavin...different is _great_. You do that for all the boys?”

 

Gavin's laughter sounded like churning froth and popping bubbles, sharp teeth flashing in the moonlight. He shook his head 'no' and took the human's hands in his own, smiling falling when he realized the other was starting to really shiver in his soaked clothes. The wind had picked up and it was starting to get to him. “Ray. Cold? Hurt?”

 

“I-I'm okay,” his teeth chattered loudly.

 

Gavin grunted and rubbed his cool hands over the boy's arms and shoulders, really frowning when he figure out he wasn't helping. “No. Cold.”

 

Ray shrugged. “Kinda.”

 

“Go,” Gavin urged, still rubbing his scrawny arms.

 

“But-” He bit the side of his lip. “I want to talk to you more. There's so much to ask you.”

 

“Later.”

 

“Later?” the boy parroted. “Like, you won't disappear forever?”

 

A slow head shake with a soft smile was all the assurement he needed.

 

“We're only here till the end of the week. Uh, four more sunsets, to you.”

 

That seemed to displease Gavin.

 

“But I can come back.”

 

He got a solemn nod, a quizzical crease between the creature's almost-human brows as if he were contemplating something.

 

“What's wrong?”

 

“Men,” Gavin spat.

 

“Boys,” Ray corrected. They're all my age.”

 

Gavin didn't look convinced. “Find you.”

“Yeah, man. I'll hang out by the water.”

 

The merman touched his leg one last time with a mournful chirp before he smoothly slid back into the water and disappeared. Ray marveled at the fact that it could be _that_ easy. In and out of the world with one long glide. He was still shivering but he couldn't bring himself to leave, not yet. He was waiting for something. The sweet music of the merman's presence to fade, the wind to stop, Caleb to show up – he didn't know exactly, but he waited.

 

There was a splash about half a mile out and the little whimsical melody in his head cut out.

 

Ray looked down at the marked sand and slowly blinked the lake water from his lashes.

 

“Gavin. Wow.”

 

 


	3. Love Across Worlds

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “ 'M sorry,” Gavin spoke in a way that was almost accented, making the other question where the other humans he'd spoken to were from. “Love is...tricky for Men. Hard to understand. Complicated. Can hurt greatly.”

 

Ray snuck out of camp around noon when the round of morning beer had finally made his friends groggy. He waited until Caleb specifically collapsed into the hammock before he left, taking some snacks and smuggling a rice-paper wrapped piece of meat. He followed his phone's walking app to head at least a mile down shore. He came across a dock and it was like out of a story. He settled at the end, taking off his jacket and resting his food on it. The water had settled from the calm night and it was clear for a foot or two. The sun was half hidden behind the clouds so it wasn't too warm, wasn't too cold. He stuffed his socks into his shoes and put them far behind him to keep them from getting wet. Bare feet eased into the water and the boy shivered but he managed to get used to it, the sun helping his toes from going numb. The dock was so low that the water went all the way up his calves.

 

He held his palm up and examined it. There was no scar, just a rosy line.

 

Ray frowned and tilted his head up to the sky. Had it all been a dream? Had he forged Gavin from his lonely, teenage mind? How cliché and stupid.

 

Something sharp grazed the bottom of his feet and he screamed, ripping his feet out of the water with a loud crash of water. He heard a bubbly laugh and he heaved a sigh of relief, slumping briefly on the low dock before he managed to sit up. Quickly drying golden hair and pitch black eyes peeked out of the surface of the water, skin crinkling at the edges to suggest a grin. Sharp tipped fingers came up and waved at him.

 

“You little shit,” Ray chuckled, slowly easing his legs over the edge so his legs could slip back in. His calves were grabbed immediately. Long fingers curled around the muscle and he scooted closer until he was right on the edge. Gavin popped out of the water still making that exotic sound and he looked pleased with himself. In the light of day he was just as majestic as he'd been the night before, more blue shining through than the grey in his skin and scales.

 

“I thought I made you up,” Ray admitted.

 

Gavin shook the last of the water from his hair, gills fluttering against his neck. “Ray.”

 

“Gavin,” Ray shot back teasingly. But the merman didn't seem to understand his sarcasm and he chirped at the sound of his name, swimming that last bit of distance between them and bracing his hands on the dock on each side of the boy's hips. Gavin effortlessly lifted himself up and brushed their noses in a playful form of greeting that made the human smile.

 

“Good to see you too, Gav.”

 

“Gav?” the merman echoed.

 

“It's a nickname,” Ray stated. “Like a pet name. It's what friends do.”

 

“Affectionate.”

 

The sudden, complicated word startled a blush out of the human. Gavin was grinning up at him like he knew about the boy's improper daydreams about his long tail and the splay of scales on skin. The merman lifted himself much more slowly this time. His outer, more human lids slid to half mast as he pecked a kiss on Ray's lips.

 

“Ray,” Gavin purred throatily, staying close.

 

“I'm really fucking glad you came back.” Ray cleared the husk from his throat. “I brought you something.”

 

Gavin chittered and settled back down mid-chest into water, waiting obediently. Ray picked up the paper package and unwrapped it with careful fingers. He presented the fattest chicken breast that Miles had brought. He'd stolen it before they'd grilled up lunch and had hidden it away on a whim. “You eat meat, don't you? You're probably a carnivore. And you don't get a lot of chickens running around so I wasn't sure if you'd had it.”

 

Gavin cooed at the smooth hunk of meat. He took it out of the wrapper and he let it rest between his hands, squeezing the pink flesh, and then slowly sank his fangs into it. His eyebrows shot up and his eyes widened before he slowly extracted his teeth. “Cold. Smooth.”

 

“Do you like it?” Ray pressed.

 

Gavin hummed and nodded.

 

“Because it's kind of a bribe,” the boy admitted. “I was kind of hoping you would let me...touch you? Nothing weird, I swear! I've never seen anything like you and I wanted to see what your scales felt like and – oh, okay, this is good too.”

Mid-rant, Gavin had slid his sharp teeth back into the smooth muscle of the chicken breast before laying in Ray's lap. He settled his head on the boy's thigh and against his stomach, arm resting on the other leg, both sets of lids closing as he suckled the new taste out of the meat. It was dead but it was a gift from his human friend and he enjoyed it.

 

Ray sighed and gathered his courage. It was all he'd been thinking about since that night and he finally had the opportunity, with Gavin's permission too. His gaze fell on the three fascinating slits on the exposed throat. His fingers hovered in the air for a long while as he listened to the gentle sounds of the merman's tail curling in the water and the chirp of the birds in the trees by the shore. He laid his fingertips right beside them and the gills flexed open. He carefully touched them and found they were thin but strong. Gavin hummed around his cold piece of meat, sounding content.

 

Ray cupped a handful of water and poured it over the slits. His friend made another soft, happy sound around the chicken. “Do you like that?”

 

Gavin nodded. Feeling bold, Ray carded through the light hair. It was kind of dry but he liked how it scratched at his palm. “You're so pretty, Gav.”

 

The merman's purr reminded him of a cat and he melted.

 

~

 

Ray went back to camp and made an appearance. He talked Kerry into starting another game of soccer to work up an appetite. Caleb was a sucker for showing off and soon Ray was background noise as the boy stramped off to the clearing where they'd set up two goals. He changed into a pain of swim trunks and an old t-shirt. He hurried back off to the dock. It was early and though the clouds covered up the sky the wind had stopped. Gavin was making smooth laps, waiting for him, and happily cried out his name when he came back.

 

“I'm not the best in the water,” Ray hesitated at the end of the dock, putting his glasses with his shoes.

 

“Come,” Gavin urged, holding out his hands and grabbing at the human. “Jump.”

 

“If you say so.”

 

Ray whooped before he ran off the edge into a cannonball. The water had the same cold burst as it had that fateful night but he didn't gasp this time, didn't clog up his lungs with murky lake water. He coughed a little when he came up but it wasn't too bad. He didn't have to make much effort to keep himself up because the end of his friend's tail wrapped around is waist. Gavin floated in front of him, arms moving much more slowly than Ray's own. The human gaped as he peered through the water to see the elegant wave of the other's flaps flowing to keep them afloat. They were more powerful than they looked and he could feel how hard they were pushing the water. It was all smooth muscle and felt great against him.

 

“Ray?” Gavin asked, sound like he wanted to make sure he was okay.

 

Ray splashed his friend in the face and the game was on. Though the human was much slower than Gavin, they had a good game of water chase and splashed each other. The merman would sometimes wrap his tail around the boy and launch him out of the water only to have him smack back down with a squeal of laughter. As Ray would try to get away, Gavin would silently swim around and circle beneath him before jumping out like he hadn't watching the human very closely. They played around until Ray stopped long enough to realize he was panting and his arms were kind of numb.

 

“Fuck,” he cursed, finally feeling the chill from his toes up to his thighs. Gavin frowned, wrapping his arms around the boy and slowly pulling him to the shore despite the protests. Ray tried to say he was fine but he leaned on the merman and let himself be dragged towards the nearest land. He laughed breathlessly to try and lighten the mood. “Sorry, man, I'm not used to moving around a lot. Forgot how much swimming could sap you if you don't pay attention.”

  
Gavin chirped and easily lifted the boy up out of the water, placing him rather firmly on a flat rock. They were on the crook of the shore where the woods tried to spill into the water and shrubbery guarded them from the view from the dock. Wet hands ran over the human's arms, over the backs of his hands, and up to his neck.

“I'm okay, Gav, just give me a minute to catch my breath.” Ray kept his eyes closed and let his friend look him over. He put his palms on the flat rock and brought his legs up to cross close to him, keeping them from the water. He rested and slowly got his strength back.

 

Unbeknownst to him, Gavin was openly admiring the way his white t-shirt clung to his chest. He eyed the dark tips under the material and was swamped with an overwhelming urge to _touch_.

 

The boy didn't feel the fingers under his shirt right away but he jumped a little when it was rucked up under his armpits. His eyes popped open and saw Gavin had pushed up high out of the water. The merman was staring at him with curiosity and raised eyebrows while cooing wetly under his breath. Ray flushed in embarrassment when he realized how hard his nipples were from the cold, stinging and kind of sensitive as blood rushed back to them. Gavin had a pair of his own and he wasn't sure what the creature was so curious about.

 

“Gav?” he inquired softly.

 

“Warm,” Gavin murmured before bobbing close to seal his lips over a nipple. The human cried out in shock and it dissolved into a moan as the pleasure kicked in. No teeth but Gavin sucked like he could get something out of them. Ray's back bowed and he grabbed onto the other's shoulder, trying to drag in enough air to protest. “G-Gavin! Stop! What are you doing?”

 

Gavin popped off the boy's nipple with a smile, bouncing his fingertip off the hard tip to make him jolt. “Warm.”

 

“Well, yeah, it's warm now,” Ray admitted. “But you can't just grab people and suck on their stuff, Gav. It's rude. There's a whole bunch of...human rules, I guess.”

  
“Permission?” Gavin prompted.

 

He nodded, rubbing a hand over his face. “Yeah, you need permission.”

 

“Ray,” Gavin pursed his lips seriously, voice steady. “Can I do it again?”

 

Ray gaped at the full sentence. It was obviously rough on the merman though his language was improving as they communicated. He looked at those big black eyes and sharp jaw, the high cheekbones and pale lips, and thought of how Gavin had saved him and healed him. No one had ever made him feel so safe. He was a creature, a non-human or maybe a hybrid, but he was pretty and the very definition of _exotic_. As weird as it was, his cock was already hard in his soaked shorts. “I've never done something like this before.”

 

“Please,” Gavin insisted very politely, obviously holding himself back.

 

Ray gave in with a little puff and a shake of his head. “Alright, Gav. If you want to. But watch your teeth, alr – _fuck_. Gavin!”

 

Ray's voice got high pitched as the merman moved quicker than he'd given him credit for, grabbing the human under the thigh and the back of the neck before moving him to lay down. He wasn't sure what to do, wasn't sure if he wanted to stop, but he got manhandled until he was at the edge of the rock and his legs were wrenched apart. He blushed hotly as a hand slapped down beside him and the merman moved up to cover him, dark eyes burning into him before a smooth mouth latched onto his cold nipple. He would've never thought they were so sensitive but they throbbed under the demanding mouth. The human tried to hold onto something but the rock was too smooth so he curled one arm over his head while the other held onto the merman's shoulder.

 

Ray looked down and whined when his cock dribbled in his shorts. Gavin's outer lids were low, his shell pink tongue darting out to lave over his nipple. The appendage was rough at the edges and silky smooth in the middle, the sensation making his balls tighten up. The cold did little to soften up his boyish enthusiasm and there was already heat coiling deep in his gut. Gavin slowly switched between each bud and left them warm and swollen, playing with them as if he'd never had the chance before. He probably hadn't.

 

Gavin started moving down at an agonizing crawl, mouth still searching and hungry. Lips counted his ribs and the dip of his belly button. Fingers came up to tap a sore nip and he shuddered visibly, teeth tight on his lower lip. “Sensitive.”

 

Ray nodded silently.

 

“Pretty,” the merman whispered in a near-hiss, fingers trailing down to tease along the elastic of his swim trunks. A small spike of fear went through him. _Not_ ready, his mind blared.As if Gavin could sense his trepidation, the shorts were left alone and instead his thighs were rubbed.

 

“ 'M not pretty,” Ray whined weakly.

 

Gavin chirped, mouthing at the skin below his belly button. The human writhed as something light and airy started swirling around his head, a tune that he'd heard the first night they'd stayed at camp. A mating call, a siren song – and now he knew it was coming from Gavin himself. Whatever magic had saved him from drowning was creeping into his head. He would be afraid of being seduced if he hadn't already had dirty thoughts of the lovely merman who had saved his life.

 

Ray's mouth dropped openly dumbly, dick _yearning_ and balls drawing up close to his body as the other shifted down with obvious intent. Gavin stared at the tell-tale bulge in the human's swim shorts with a wide smile. He was about to beg him not to, to explain what he had under there and how inappropriate this was, but his mind went blank as Gavin's tongue dragged over the swell of his cock. Looking up at Ray, the merman starting licking in firm stripes. He whined like he was upset he couldn't get a proper taste.

 

The pressure got to be too much and Ray fell over the edge, moaning and clenching his eyes shut as he spilled inside his trunks like he was fourteen again. Spots went off behind his lids but just for a second as the intensity got to him. It was a rush of warmth through his groin and made everything so much wetter, the grind of Gavin's tongue through the material soon too much and making him writhe on the rock. His whole body buzzed, air coming in thick heaves as he tried to come back down.

 

“Seed,” Gavin cooed in delight when some of the spunk seeped past the waistband, his fingers running through it the little that came up. Ray sucked in a breath so hard he was sure he was going to pass out. The sight of the merman closing his eyes, brow pinching, and curiously lapping at his fingers – it _did stuff_ to him.. It was the stuff he'd be jerking off to for years. Gavin made a soft sound in the back of his throat as his fingers left his mouth with a _pop._

 

“I...I can't believe you did that...”

 

“Ma...” Gavin stopped himself, frownng briefly before tugging down the elastic of the boy's swimsuit. Ray yelped as the slick tongue sqiped up the translucent spatter of spunk that had smeared through his hair and along his hip. Sharp fingertips scratched through the coarse curls above his cock and there was an amused hum. The second Ray felt his shorts getting pulled lower eh smacked the merman's hands away and tugged his trunks up and his shirt down.

 

“No!” he scolded hotly, face still beet red as he sat up and glared at his friend. “You can't do that, Gavin. That's sex. That's...intimate, remember? You don't know what the hell you're doing.”

 

Gavin whimpered and lowered back down until the water lapped at his biceps. He peered up at Ray with an unguarded, hurt expression that broke the boy's heart. The merman made one of those cute little chitters as he rubbed his cheek along his chilled knee.

 

“Gav,” Ray sighed, fire dying, “I shouldn't have yelled at you. But that's what boyfriends do, people who _really_ like each other.”

 

“ _Really_ like you,” Gavin mimicked his tone with a pout. “Ray. My friend.”

 

Ray smiled like a dope. “Don't pull out the mushy stuff, asshole.” He slipped down into the water and wrapped his arms around the merman's shoulders. Gavin was quick to curl his arms around his waist to hold him afloat, rubbing their cheeks in apology. Ray kissed the thin jut of Gavin's ear, his temple, the edge of his gills, his high cheek and finally the salty curve of his lips. “I'm just embarrassed, Gav.”

 

“Why?” Gavin bumped their noses together. “Pretty Ray.”

 

Ray sighed happily at the praise. “There are prettier humans than me.”

 

Gavin frowned in disbelief. “No.”

 

“ _Yes_ ,” Ray shot back with a small chuckle, brushing their noses again but much softer. “I came really fast. Guys are supposed to last longer than that. And you barely even touched me. It was my first time getting close to someone and I shot off like a bottle rocket. So, yeah, embarrassed as hell.”

 

Gavin crooned sympathetically before brushing their lips in a human kiss, barely moving away as he spoke.

 

“You're young,” Gavin hushed, sounding sure and steady as he touched their lips once more. “We'll practice.”

 

“Jesus, Gav,” Ray puffed, cock twitching in the chilly water. He swallowed thickly and nodded. “Okay, yeah. We can... _practice_.”

 

The seductive shin in the merman's eyes was replaced with childish glee that was mirrored in his big smile. He hugged the human close and started swimming them slowly back toward the dock. “New shell. Cold, Ray.”

 

“Shell?” Ray repeated before he understood what his friend meant. “My clothes? Yeah, new clothes. Thanks, man.”

 

The concern touched him and he clung trustingly to the merman, letting him take the lead.

 

~~

 

The boys took off in Miles' truck to the nearest gas station to load up on more beer and salty snacks. Ray volunteered to stay behind and watch camp. After some teasing that he would be the first victim in a classic horror movie, the group left with wild hollers and catcalls to not jerk off on anything. He waited until he couldn't hear the truck's stereo before he went to the shore where Caleb had docked the silver boat. The older boy had apologized over and over, in private of course, claiming that he'd looked all over for Ray after he'd fallen and had been worried.

 

With a good push of the oars, Ray was out on the water. He paddled far out towards the middle of the lake away from the eye-line of camp. His strokes were kind of pathetic but he glided along the surface of the water with suspicious ease. He found a good spot and stopped, laying the paddles safely along the bottom before scooting to one end of the bench. He straddled it and crossed his arms on the side, leaning out a bit. “I know you're down there.”

 

A few little bubbles popped on the murky surface.

 

“The others are gone,” Ray stated, letting his hand drop down until only the ends were in the water. “They'll probably end up going into the city for pizza and stuff. I can stay longer this time.”

 

Fingertips touched his own, the pads pressing in a way that made the human a little breathless. He smiled and pushed harder until their fingers slipped together in the best example of _intimate_ he could think of.

 

“Ga-vin,” Ray sing-songed lightly. A muffled, adorable sound drifted through the water before the fingers disappeared. In a swirl of movement, Gavin appeared just below the surface, floating on his back and smiling up at Ray. The boy dragged his fingertips along the scales that crept up his friend's hips, the slope of his stomach, and up between his pecs. The water rippled along with his touch. “There you are.”

 

Gavin flipped back in the water before bobbing up to come face to face with the lad. He had a shark-like smirk on his face and there was intent when his hands came up and cupped either side of his head.

 

“Ray,” the merman sang his name back to him before drawing him into a human kiss. Ray oh-so-carefully licked along the other's lips, begging for entrance, and he got it. Gavin's tongue was agile along his own and coaxed him into a filthy grind, both mindful of sharp teeth. Ray moaned and tried to get closer, to feel more, but the merman was slowly moving away. He blindly followed, whining every time the contact broke, and then the boat shifted underneath him. He yelped and flailed madly but the boat was slippery and tilted and he spilled into the lake with only a little tug to his shirt.

 

Ray broke the surface sputtering as his friend giggled. “You think you're so funny, huh? Dick.”

 

“Want you here,” Gavin informed him, tugging him closer so the boy didn't have to work so hard to keep his head above water. “With me.”

 

“If you weren't so fucking cute...”

 

They played around as they had the day before but much more lightly with Gavin's tail always a curl away the moment the human showed signs of wearing down. They kissed lazily, even in the merman's way. The shock of the touch was less powerful this time but just as heady and intoxicating. It made Ray tingle from his roots to his toes and he told his friend this, receiving a smile and delighted coo in response. Gavin started to tell him about himself, how he hatched here in the lake by a mother who probably had already returned to the sea through the dangerous journey of shallow water. Ray helped him along, finishing his sentences and guessing more complicated ideas for the merman to either agree with or deny.

 

Gavin had grown up alone here in the large lake. He'd been hunted before but the humans had called him a rumor and given up easily. The few friends he'd made over the years had been far between. He said he felt young but he didn't know how old he was. He had no reference, not really, and no one to tell him. “Only one,” he croaked sadly.

 

Ray had kissed the frown from his lips, instinctively wiping away tears that the merman could not produce. “I'm here now, Gav.”

 

After a while Ray decided to head back to camp. He was hungry and cold and he didn't need the guys to come looking for him. Gavin protested but the boy was insistent. He tried to climb back up into the boat but he kept slipping and falling back into the water.

 

“A little help, dude?”

 

Gavin raised a brow at him, moving fluidly with every wave.

 

“Fine,” Ray huffed, managing to fish the docking rope out of the boat. “Help me take it to the dock?”

 

Gavin nodded and jumped to obey but it was slow an ddragged out. He moved at a snail's pace and kept stopping to peck kisses on the human boy's mouth despite the frail complaints that he had to hurry up and get back. Once they reached the dock the rope was tossed onto it, the merman pouting as if being denied his favorite toy. Ray gave him a kiss on the cheek before bracing his hands on the dock before heaving himself up. The suction and drag of the water hitched down the trunks and they caught around his thighs. He squealed and nearly slipped back down into the water.

 

“God damn it,” he muttered angrily.

 

Two smooth hands settled on each cheek and pinned him to the dock, stomach pressing against the wooden edge. He craned his neck to look over his shoulder and see Gavin staring with open fascination at at his usually hidden place.

 

“It's small,” Gavin cooed lowly and spread his cheeks farther. Ray gasped as a thumb tapped against his hole, the jarring sensation making him rock forward. A blush stained his cheeks as he felt himself twitch under the merman's gaze and touch. “So tiny.”

 

“S-Shut up!” Ray stuttered, fingers fumbling over the dock as he tried to drag himself up and away. He made a quiet, strangled sound as a wet muscle swiped over his hole. The licks were kittenish at first, searching, testing the tightness of the rim. “Stop it, Gav, that's...that's dirty...”

 

Gavin chuckled all wet and happy, dipping his hand in the water before pouring it along the boy's crack. His cry carried across the lake as the icy feeling was rubbing into his hole and down the back of his balls. “Better?”

 

“That's not what I meant!”

 

The merman's strong, agile tongue dipped into the furl of muscle. Ray still quietly begged Gavin to stop but he started to relax, body opening up to let it further inside. He shivered and rested his cheek on his folded arms. He'd never thought about rimming before or fingering himself but his hole seemed sensitive, little bolts of pleasure making their way to his dick. He chewed his arm to quiet himself as he hesitantly rocked back, parting his legs to make more room.

 

“Gavin,” he moaned breathily as the tongue curled around and dragged against his insides. He could feel himself clenching around the muscle and it was weirdly erotic. “W-We talked about this. Making me come, remember? I-It's for lovers.”

 

“Seed,” Gavin hummed in anticipation, mouthing hungrily at the needy little hole. The boy's swim trunks were gently tugged down his legs and let them float a little ways off. He looked all over the newly bared flesh.

 

Ray finally shook the pleasant haze off long enough to growl. “Damn it, Gavin-!”

 

His protest cut off as he was flipped over onto his back, elbows smacking hard across the wood. He tried to snap his legs closed but Gavin bared his teeth and grabbed his knees, forcing them apart. Ray whimpered at the show of strength and resisted the urge to cover himself. The look on his friend's face said he wouldn't allow such a thing anyway. He felt horribly bare spread out in the sun on the flat dock, dark eyes burning between his thighs, naked in front of someone for the first time. He closed his eyes tight and tried to block out where he was at but the merman's gurgling warning snarl made them pop back open. Silvery barbs were flexing in Gavin's skin like a threat and the frustrated look disappeared once he saw he had Ray's attention.

 

“Beautiful,” Gavin swore, head dipping down to lick at the base of the human's cock. Lips and tongue worked over his skin and made him hotter, pleasure chasing away the sting of the water. There was an inquisitive, almost-innocent expression on the merman's face as he licked up his cock. He reached the tip and paused, looking down at it as if he'd never seen such a thing. The length was seized between a thumb and forefinger, the human's hips thrusting up to seek contact.

 

“What's wrong?” he whispered, hesitant to ask.

 

“Strange.” Gavin clicked his tongue, squeezing the flesh until the boy whined. The merman's lips formed a little 'o' of discovery before he squeezed again, moving his fingers up to pinch at the plump head. A bead of pre-cum came from the tip and he licked it away with a chirp.

 

Ray felt a hot bolt of humiliation and he looked away, hips still twitching. “I know I'm not the biggest.”

 

“Ray.” A finger caught under his chin and turned his head back so he could see Gavin's kind smile, the affection in his eyes. “Perfect Ray.” The merman's tongue swiped over his lower lip as his hand trailed down to rest over the boy's hard flesh. It felt primal, protective. “All mine?”

 

Ray nodded quickly. “No one's done this, j-just you you, Gav.”

 

“No one else,” Gavin muttered, lids falling low as he looked over the other's bared form, shirt pushed up above his stomach to show off how it quivered with each touch. “Pure.” His hand ran lovingly down from his cock to thumb at the curve of his balls, following the seam down to the clench of his hole. “Good.”

 

Ray flushed all over as two blunt fingers rubbed at his hole, never dipping inside to save him the cut of his slight talons. The human lost all sense of restraint and propriety and his own hand shot down to grab his cock. He jacked it quickly, eyes fluttering closed as his gut coiled up tight. The fingers rubbed harder against his rim and nerves fizzled under his skin, the feeling coming to a head at the tip of his cock.

 

“ _Gavin_.”

 

The name came in one long, drawn out whine as his toes curled and his back curved. He felt the warm stripes across his fingers and stomach, beads trickling into his belly button and getting lost in the curls above his cock. He panted a little and slumped against the dock, legs falling open, shameless in his post-orgasm daze. Water was poured along his stomach and it felt good on his heated skin, firm swipes cleaning up the mess.

 

When Ray finally pried his eyes open he spotted Gavin licking his fingers clean. The moment he saw the boy looking his eyes went fearfully wide and he smacked his hands down into the water. A proverbial cat stealing the cream. The human laughed weakly and offered his hand. Gavin jumped up with a splash and fit himself between his legs without touching much, bracing his hand on the dock while the other snatched the boy's wrist and held it in place to be sucked clean. The merman's lovely light lashes flickered as he moaned and enjoyed the taste, tongue even digging at his nails to get the last of it. _Pretty_ and _perfect_ were gurgled along his skin.

 

“Ray,” Gavin sighed like it was the only word he needed, gently laying the boy's hand down on his stomach before curling his tail and sinking down into the water. He scrubbed his cheeks along the soft insides of his thighs, admiring the strange genitals before a finger crept down between his cheeks to tap at his hole once more. Ray covered his softening cock with one hand while the other muffled another embarrassing sound. “Tight.”

 

“Stop!” Ray yelped, sitting up and batting away the merman's hands. Gavin obeyed but didn't move far, staying close enough to pepper kisses on the boy's throat. “Jesus, Gavin, you're trying to kill me, aren't you?”

 

The creature clicked in that strange language of his, lips skimming his pulse.

 

“English, please?”

 

“What for?” Gavin pulled back and swallowed, clearing his throat with wet sloshes. He gestured between the boy's closed thighs. “Is it...for...breeding? Pleasure?”

 

“Among others things,” Ray admitted with burning hot ears. Gavin quickly retrieved his shorts and tugged the human's legs into them, smoothing them along his hips before starting to beg. He wanted to know how it could be used for breeding and how his dick worked, how it was utilized. Ray couldn't deny his friend some basic knowledge of human anatomy. He explained the stuff he'd seen in porn, how there was slick stuff that you could use to ease the way and put fingers. He found himself explaining buttsex and dildos and babies to the merman. To Gavin's credit he listened to everything with a serious expression and nodded along to show he was understanding, sometimes asking questions when he was unclear. He seemed adamant to know if it felt good and Ray broke down and stated that it had to because so many people did it. A prostate was hard to put into words but the other managed to get the general idea.

 

“Ray,” Gavin stated at the end, grabbing both the boy's hands and squeezing them pointedly. “Can I see you...do this?”

 

Ray gaped dumbly. “You want to watch me get myself off?”

 

Gavin nodded, bringing a hand up to kiss the human's fingers.

 

He had to ask. “Why?”

 

“I cannot,” the merman mourned, wiggling his sharp fingertips pointedly. “Want to touch. I...want to see you _happy_.”

 

Ray wanted to say no but what reason did he have to do that? Why not say yes? They'd already shared so much. No matter how the merman had pushed he'd wanted it in the end. His insecurities had almost stopped him from the greatest experiences of his life. He trusted Gavin, he wanted more with him, and he'd been meaning to try fingering...

 

“If I hurt myself, can you help me?” Ray asked. “You seem to, uh, sense my pain or whatever.”

 

Gavin chirped, thin ears wiggling. “Will heal Ray. No blood. No pain.” He continued on in his own language, petting the boy's knees like a promise. There were a few English words mixed in and the human frowned when he caught it.

 

“Gav, did you say 'not yet'?”

 

Gavin frowned very deeply and shook his head.

 

Ray sighed, finally pushing his shirt back down. “I wish we could talk better.”

 

“Soon?” Gavin piped up.

 

“Yeah, man. Your English is getting a lot better. Soon.”

 

~~

 

Caleb was the first choice because he knew the guy had come here with the intention of getting him into his sleeping bag. Ray searched their shared tent but there was nothing. Spit or water wouldn't be enough for his first time. He cursed and waited in his sleeping bag, putting a shitty plan together and forcing it into action when the other came back to drop off for the night.

 

“Staying up for me?” Caleb teased lightly, shooting him a wink. He plopped down into his own bedding and stripping down to his shorts. Ray forced himself to laugh. He scooted closer until they were side by side. Caleb's big, doe eyes were looking at him with happy surprise. He laid a hand on his covered knee and slowly rubbed his thumb against it.

 

“Caleb, I have a favor.”

 

“Anything for you, babe,” Caleb hushed, pressing their shoulders.

 

Ray steeled himself and put on a simper. “Did you bring any lube?”

 

Caleb's face split into a dimpled smile. “You bet your ass I did.”

 

“Can I have it?”

 

“I don't know,” Caleb drawled out, wrapping an arm around the younger boy's shoulders. “You trying to practice for me, babe? You know we couldn't do anything in the tent. Do you want me to get all jealous from the others hearing you in here trying to find your sweet spot?” The older boy's hand drifted down, teasing at the band of his shorts. “We could head into the woods and I could show you how to really use it?”

 

Ray resisted the urge to give him a fat lip at the insinuation his first time should be a quickly out in the brush. He thought of Gavin's sharp teeth and claws, the deadly barbs that folded so neatly inside his smooth skin. Feeling empowered, he kept his smile and tightened his fists. “I want to try it out first. No one's going to hear me.” _No one's going to find me._

 

Caleb thought it over for a minute before getting in his bag. It was hidden in the side pocket. The stuff was a good brand and it was handed over with ease. “Think of me, alright?”

 

“Sure, Caleb, who else would I think of?” _You stupid fuck._

 

~~

 

“Is there anywhere we can do this in private?”

 

“Boat?”

 

“I can’t take it without them asking a lot of questions.”

 

Gavin returned with an old rowboat from who-knows-where in tow. “Boat.”

 

“Alright, don’t get your tail in a knot…”

 

Ray sat on the old, rickety seat and let the merman pull him along the lake. The dense island he’d wanted so much to explore his first day had a small sister isle. It was lush and overgrown around the edge but Gavin led him to the opposite side of the dock and shore camp was on. “Secret spot,” he had insisted. Ray awed at it. The tree branches and bushes seemed to curl around the spot that met the shore where thick, squishy moss grew along with tiny blue flowers that gave off a musky scent. There were rocks made of shiny quartz and polished stone placed around it in a half-circle that spilled into the water. It looked like an altar.

 

“Did you make this?” Ray asked, frowning at the bed-like structure.

 

“My spot,” Gavin replied simply, holding his arms. “Ray. Come.”

 

“I need to tie the boat up and the water is really deep-”

 

“Ray.” His name was a quiet demand and a lover’s coo, hands reaching out to him while the merman beamed up at him. “Trust me. Protect you.”

 

“You’re such a knight in shining armor,” Ray relented with a pleasant buzz in his chest. “Okay, hold on.”

 

The human carefully climbed out of the boat and straight into Gavin’s capable arms. He was easily held almost completely above water, the merman’s tail churning under the surface to keep them high. He was helped onto the bed of moss and it was dryer than it looked but velvety soft under his palms and knees. Gavin busied himself tying the boat to the nearest tree trunk while the other looked around properly. They were heavily shielded from the closest shores and the dense island in front of them blocked off a good portion. Someone would need binoculars from a very long distance to see them. As excitement started to curl in Ray’s belly, he decided he didn’t care if someone saw.

 

Gavin had said he wanted to see him “lost in pleasure” and he was going to give his friend that. He owed him his life and _God damn_ if Ray didn’t want it just as much. He wanted to see that possessive, hungry look in the other’s eyes and hear the siren song of whatever magic rested within him. It was strange and wrong and so beautiful – he dreamed about it every night. He’d never felt this way about anyone before, he’d never wanted to share himself so badly. Sure, he felt vulnerable and weird at first, but Gavin had given him nothing but good things.

 

So Ray stripped off his shorts and underwear and settled down on the moss. Gavin’s hand slid under his shirt and pushed it up under his arms, smiling shyly while he cooed at the sight of the human’s chest. “Whatever gets you off,” Ray muttered as he slicked two fingers up. He started off slow, prodding and massaging the muscle while he idly played with his dick. Gavin was laid out on his belly, tail swishing smoothly back and forth behind him while his flaps fluttered in excitement. He had his chin rested on his folded hands, elbows in the sand and mud, eyes darting all between the boy’s thighs.

 

There was an intense ache as the first finger slipped in. He hissed but kept moving, trying his hardest not to clench down and to keep himself relaxed. Gavin’s melodious coos were encouraging so he dug his heels in the moss and moved his finger. _In. Out. In._ He kept the motion to match his breathing. By the time he dared to put a second finger he was half hard and starting to sweat. The merman kept touching along the inside of his thighs, the first few notes of that magical song popping up in the back of his mind.

 

“What is that?” Ray panted out to distract himself, two fingers feeling like ten inside him. “That music.”

 

“Me,” Gavin answered simply, staring at the way the human’s small hole stretched to accommodate the two digits.

 

“That’s cryptic and reassuring,” Ray joked lightly, taking his hand off his dick long enough to take off his glasses and put them somewhere behind his head in a patch of grass. He closed his eyes and tried to relax again, focusing on the swelling music instead of the fact that he was outside with his fingers up his ass. As his body really started to open up he began to lose his inhibitions, his pained puffs of breath forming moans as his dick plumped in his hand. The breeze picked up and his nipples hardened, the pleasant tightness only adding to the growing sensations. He re-lubed his fingers and started to ease in a third, pumping gently to coax in the digit, rim finally giving way. The girth was both excruciating and the most intense experience he’d ever had. The feeling of something stretching your body – the pang of muscle clinging to something so hot and alive – it made tears well up in his eyes. A hand laid over his and _pushed_ , sending his fingers even deeper. He couldn’t bite back his squeal, eyes popping open to look pleadingly at the merman. Gavin looked ready to devour him as he kept the pressure on his hand, the tips of his own fingers touching a textured bump inside him that had his hips writhing on the moss.

 

“D-Don’t, Gav…it hurts,” Ray half-lied, still squirming around his own fingers. He could feel the tight, slick grasp of his hole around himself and it was too much for his brain to handle.

 

“Little liar,” Gavin purred roughly as he ground his fingers in deeper, knowing eyes watching the boy’s dick leak against his stomach. Ray was choking down a sob when the merman suddenly moved, pushing up from the water to sit beside the human. “Wet?”

 

The boy blinked back tears and his fuzzy brain fumbled to figure out what he was talking about. After a few impatient clicks he got the idea and handed over the tube of lube. Gavin slowly drizzled it over his fingers, rubbing the slick substance around with a curious furrow between his brows, and then he wrapped his hand around the human’s dick. Ray bucked on his fingers and up into the tightening circle, fucking the fist. It was cool and slippery, each ridge of his finger rubbing over the flushed head and sending new sparks through his body. Gavin chittered encouragingly, excited to watch the human start to lose himself in pleasure. Cute cheeks flushed, sweat beading along his hairline and throat, the muscles in his thighs shaking as he raced to the end. It was almost too intense to actually feel _good_ in the normal sense but he couldn’t stop if he wanted to. Ray mindlessly rolled his hips up into the merman’s grip, down onto his fingers, and back again. The smooth movements grew choppy as the heat built up and up and-

 

“Fuck!”

 

It all came toppling down and he nearly shook apart, spilling hot all over himself. Gavin’s fingers seemed to pulse around his dick and it only drew the climax out. He thrust up a few more times to milk it before he went boneless upon the moss, breath leaving him in dreamy sighs as pure warmth flooded his system. He reached out for Gavin and the merman’s cooed his name, wrapping an arm under his head while the other curled along his waist. Ray shuddered as he felt a silky, wet sensation coil around and through his legs. When he looked down it was his friend’s tail slithering protectively along his bare skin. Gavin seemed to be weaving himself onto him, shielding and grounding him at the same time. Ray wasn’t sure what the shaky, vulnerable feeling was in his chest but having the other hold him started to erase it.

 

Tiny, human kisses were dropped on his cheeks.

 

“Was it – ” he swallowed loudly, “Was it good, Gav?”

 

“Lovely,” Gavin replied in a throaty whisper, nose nudging under the boy’s jaw. He stroked his knuckles over Ray’s cheek before gently turning his head, brushing their noses, and then resting his forehead upon his in a kiss that made the lad gasp and slip deep into the space Gavin had created for them. Though lost in the sound of his own heartbeat and the merman’s gentle crooning, Ray didn’t miss the heat that pressed against his hip.

 

~

 

Ray fell asleep that night at camp thinking about the merman’s strange heat, hole still sore and kind of open from how much he’d stretched it. He tossed and dreamed fitfully of water in his lungs, seeping into his pores, drowning him. There were blindingly white teeth and silvery barbs, the taste of copper following him upon waking. He couldn’t shake it, teeth and fingers itching like crazy with a need for something he didn’t know.

 

Brow slick with sweat, Ray turned over in his sleeping bag and swiped his clammy hands on the blanket. He wasn’t sure if he was still dreaming or not but he could hear a thudding sound close by. It drove him into a restless state, panting and clawing at everything around him as his mouth watered up in hunger. He was so _thirsty_ and his belly was cramping as if he hadn’t eaten in days He dragged himself up to sit and look for what was making the infuriatingly tempting noise.

 

Caleb. Oblivious, handsome Caleb was sleeping peacefully just a few feet away. The thudding was a heartbeat, slow and steady, and Ray followed it with blind need. He crawled over and his gaze zeroed in on the slight jump of pulse in the older boy’s throat. _Thump. Thump_. Rich iron and life hiding under thin, fragile skin that could be ripped like paper.

 

Ray slowly lowered himself and swiped his tongue over the boy’s neck, blunt teeth screaming to bite and tear.

 

And then he snapped out of it.

 

“Fucking shit,” Ray cursed, quickly crawling backward until he hit his own sleeping back. He stared in horror at his sleeping friend and balled up the blankets in his shaking fists. _What the fuck did I almost do?_

 

~~

 

Ray got up way earlier than everyone else. He wasn’t sleeping anyway and decided to take advantage of the warm morning. He put on some swim trunks and headed out far down the shore. There were a few stretches of land that weren’t camp sites and he wanted to get a few hours of alone time in with his friend. Gavin greeted him with a joyful cry of his name and a mighty splash as he nearly jumped out of the water. The merman followed him further down, showing off the grey-blue curves of his tail and the graceful way he sliced through the water. Once Ray hit sand he stopped and decided this was where they’d play. The water grew shallow rather gradually and it felt like a good meeting of their two worlds.

 

Ray talked about his home, school, and the video games he played. Gavin caught on to the concept of imaginary interactions quite well and attempted to explain his magic, how he lost himself in vivid dreams of other worlds.

  
“The stars,” he mused, tilting his head back. “I swim there. The sky…just another lake.”

 

Ray tried not to swoon too hard at the romantic nature of his friend but it was difficult with the happy, wistful look on his face. He asked about the ocean and whether he would ever want to go. Gavin had shrugged at that but there was yearning in his eyes.

 

“You can’t stay here forever, Gav,” Ray tisked as he attempted to skip smooth stones, which the merman quickly retrieved for him to try again. “You’re too smart for a little place like this. If your mom could make the journey so can you. I bet you’d find others like you out there. The sea is a deep place, man. There are places humans can’t touch. You’d be a lot safer.”

 

“Dangerous to go alone,” Gavin grieved with sad, lowered eyes.

 

Ray dried his hands and went back to the shore to go through his bag. He got out his phone and got on Google until he found a good map. A few more searches and he grinned. “Come here, Gav. Take a look at this.”

 

Ray explained a phone and shared information, pictures of their location. Gavin nodded, familiar with the concepts and material, but was confused by the picture on the screen. “See this?” The human traced his finger along where the lake poured into a river. “It gets pretty shallow a few times but there is definitely a water path all the way through here. It’s a big trip, for sure, but if you can get to Rochester then you’re home free because Irondequoit Bay spills right into Lake Ontario. If that’s not where she headed you can get to the Atlantic from there. It’ll get cold but it’s really possible.”

 

Gavin’s ears twitched happily when he understood the blue lines as water. “Ocean?”

 

The longing in the merman’s voice made his chest ache. “God yes, Gav, we can get you to the ocean. I can get one of those tiny, legal motorboats and we can take the whole route so you don’t get lost. You and me, man.” He started to get breathless with excitement. “We can go during the summer when I don’t have school. I mean, this time we skipped Friday and we don’t plan on getting home until Tuesday, but our parents are cool with it and I could afford to miss two days. But this trip would take a long time. I’d have to talk to my mom, get a bunch of supplies, mow some grass and stuff to save money, but we could totally fucking do this.”

 

“Go with me?” Gavin awed.

 

“Gav,” Ray sighed tenderly, “Of course I’ll go with you. It’s a tough route and your mom probably remembered the way. You’ll have no idea. Maybe some magic or whatever to find the ocean, but you’ll get lost. I couldn’t let you do that alone.”

 

The merman’s whine was strangled and rough. Ray was pulled into a hug and his clothes got wet but he didn’t care. He hugged him back, lips spilling with promises that he wouldn’t let him be cooped up here forever and that he deserved to get to the ocean. He warned that it would be dangerous with all the new creatures to fend off but not nearly as dangerous as staying where anyone could see him.

 

“There’s only ever going to be _more_ people, Gav.”

 

It took a while for them to compose themselves and there was a whole new affectionate look on Gavin’s face when they pulled away. They laughed off their sappiness and started messing around again, digging pretty things out of the sand and playing a game of makeshift Frisbee involving a flatter shell that the merman had found in a deeper part of the water. Gavin teased the human about his slow feet and Ray countered that he wasn’t going to get outdone by an overgrown sardine. Between the games they talked about their favorite fish (though for vastly different reason because Ray didn’t eat anything that ‘squirmed really well’ when he bit into it), what they liked to do for fun (Gavin could fucking _weave_ and that blew Ray’s minor sketching hobby out of the water), and he even introduced him to human music. Unsurprisingly, Gavin enjoyed the few classical songs he played aloud on his iPod but dubstep was too much and made him cringe.

 

Ray played some airy flute music to describe what the merman’s call sounded like to him. Gavin listened intently but shrugged. He said he’d never heard another mermaid’s song so he didn’t know what it was like. “Only Ray’s song.”

 

“My song?” the human laughed. “I don’t have any magic, dude, I can’t make music with my mind like a wizard.”

 

Gavin nodded insistently and swam up to the boy, pushing up with his tail until he could lay a hand over his chest. After a moment he started to tape it, head bobbing along. “My heartbeat?”

 

“Ray’s song,” Gavin hummed. “Calls to me. Like…I call to you.”

 

“Stop it, Gavin,” Ray demanded weakly.

 

The merman looked hurt. “Stop?”

 

“Stop making me love you, asshole.”

 

“Love?” Gavin gaped, surging up further to rub the boy’s cheek with is palm. “Ray loves me?”

 

The human felt his chest swell up and he had to tear himself out of the water, stomping up to the dry shore and into the woods until he was out of sight of the water. He raked his fingers through his hair and groaned, leaning against a tree as he heard Gavin call his name in a plea to come back. His heart was hurting and his stomach was upset. Love? Did he love Gavin? He knew that getting intimate with someone could make you care about them but that was for idiot romantics.

 

Except…Ray was one of those idiots. He’d always thought that sex would mean more for him and that he should wait for someone who cared about him, who wouldn’t hurt him. But Gavin wasn’t even human. He was a sea creature, a mermaid for Christ’s sake. But the siren call, the magical kisses, and the pure adoration in his inky black eyes whenever he looked at him – what did that all add up to? Did Gavin love him back?

 

“This is not a fucking Disney movie,” he growled to himself.

 

The bitterness and rage lasted for almost an hour and he sat there to stew in it. The feelings began to fade as his mind mulled over the concept of love and how he would know. What if he…did stuff to Gavin back? What if he stopped being selfish to see if they could really do this? Gavin had been so generous with giving him some the most intense orgasms of his life. If he tried to reciprocate and wasn’t disgusted with himself, then maybe it was love. But if he hated it then he could explain to the merman that they had to stop the intimate stuff and just be friends.

 

Stop before they both got hurt.

 

Ray got up, brushed himself off, and headed to the shore ready to apologize. He shouldn’t have run off where Gavin couldn't follow. It wasn't fair and it wasn't right. The merman was nothing but nice to him and he left him the second they hit a rough patch. What kind of fair-weather friend was he, anyhow? His legs shook with nerves as he tramped through the brush. He'd never touched someone like _that_ before and he was afraid he'd be awful. All his porn-watching skills were useless in the face of whatever kind of junk Gavin had. There could be anything hiding under that tail. What if he had tentacles or some kind of barbed dick that would poison on contact? Would it be really small? Really big? What if he couldn't fit it in his mouth?

  
Ray swallowed thickly. _What if it tastes bad? Do I keep going?_

 

With unease clouding his thoughts, Ray stumbled into the clearing of the little beach. He was surprised to find Gavin still there. The merman had his tail bent and tucked under his chin like they were knees. Tiny, sad whines came from deep within his chest as he fiddled with the rocks in the wrist-deep water. He picked his head up with perked ears and open mouth when he heard the human's commotion. A relieved smile broke out on Gavin's face and Ray instantly felt like an asshole. “Ray!”

 

“Hey, Gav,” Ray sat down in the shallows and gestured him closer. “Come here, okay? I want to talk.”

 

It seemed the 'we need to talk' trope extended to mermaids because the other was hesitant to swim up, slithering along the sand and kicking up murky water. He slid into place beside the boy and took his hand instantly in a human gesture he'd grown rather fond of.

 

“ 'M sorry,” Gavin spoke in a way that was almost accented, making the other question where the other humans he'd spoken to were from. “Love is... _tricky_ for Men. Hard to understand. Complicated. Can hurt greatly.”

 

“You got it right there, good buddy,” Ray laughed humorlessly. “Humans are terrible at love. We don't have a good definition because it's different for everyone. There's a hundred different kinds of love and ways to do it.”

 

“Simple for me,” Gavin assured, squeezing the other's hand. “Strong. We have love.” Ray grew breathless as wet fingers trailed up his arm. “We will always have it.”

 

“Well _fuck_ ,” Ray gasped as his heart swelled twice it's size and threatened to puncture on the cage of his ribs. “I didn't know you felt like that.”

 

Gavin nodded solemnly before leaning in to kiss his cheek. “Ray.” There it was again, his name breathed like a prayer and the answer to the universe.

 

Ray cleared his throat. “You get really articulate when you're being serious.”

 

A wet chuckle met his ears before he got another kiss, the touch delicate like he thought the human would pull away and leave again.

 

“This is going to sound really cheesy and stupid, but here it goes.” Ray gently grabbed the merman's chin and made him look him in the eye. “I want to know if I can love you, Gav. I want to know if there is something to all this besides the best friendship I've ever had. I feel comfortable around you and you've made me feel, like, _really_ good. I need to know if I'm confusing that with love because I can't be as certain as you are.”

 

Gavin looked hurt but he nodded, ready to try anything. “How?”

 

Ray felt his cheeks burn hot on cue. “You've been doing all these really hot things to me and I...well, I want to try it with you. _On_ you, I guess.” Gavin chittered in puzzlement. “I want to do that stuff back to you. I want to make you feel good. Is there anyway we can do that? I don't really know what kind of equipment we're looking at. You've seen all mine.”

 

Gavin grinned and laid a hand in the boy's lap, thumb rubbing hard where he knew the boy's cock was. “Cute.”

 

“My dick is _not_ cute,” he shot back.

 

“Ray wants...to love me?” the merman pressed, obviously trying to clarify. “To give me pleasure? Like I did _here_?” Another firm squeeze along his groin had the human half hard already.

 

“Yeah,” Ray squeaked before purposefully clearing his throat, “So can we do that? Do you have the stuff do it? Or do you want to?” He got flustered as he tripped onto the idea. “You don't have to, Gav. I don't want to pressure you into anything. I know we kind of got tangled up in it, so if you don't feel comfortable that's completely fine.”

 

“Ray,” Gavin laughed, shaking his head at the babbling, “Please? I want that too.”

 

“Articulate asshole,” Ray grumbled good naturedly before scooting closer. “How do you want to start?”

 

Gavin clicked loudly before cupping his face and dipping in for a human kiss. Ray sighed in relief and sunk into the newly familiar action. The merman's long, agile tongue curled along his own and stroked in a slow rhythm. Their lips slid together wetly, fangs minded, but blunt human teeth tugging at sensitive lips. It wasn't just handholding Gavin had grown a fondness for, he'd developed quite the taste for human kisses. They touched each other along the shoulders and arms, fingertips drifting along chests. The merman hummed when Ray dragged his thumbnail over one of his nipples. Gavin started licking hungrily at his throat once the human touched around his gills, the light touch along the lines of his barbs making him start to shiver.

 

Ray's wrist was grabbed and his hand was laid on the seat of the merman's lap. There was heat pulsing deep inside his tail and it got closer to the surface as the human slowly rubbed. The scales were shifting under his touch as if they were alive. Ray watched with rapt attention as a line opened up down along the other's lap. It was beautiful and as it bloomed open it revealed silvery flesh. Two long, ivory appendages slid free side by side and seemingly connected at the base. They were long and wide, not quite flat but nowhere near the shape of a dick. They laid flat on the rest of the tail and barely moved but they seemed to slowly flex with excitement, narrowing toward the tips.

 

But beneath that...

 

“Wow.” His mouth went dry as he openly stared at the glistening slit below the lengths. “You've got, uh, both?”

 

“Both?” Gavin echoed.

 

“I've got a dick, I'm a male,” Ray fumbled to explain, unable to tear his eyes away. “Females have vaginas. They're, like, slick openings for popping out babies? For reproduction.”

 

Gavin nodded slowly. “Then, both.”

 

“C-Can you have kids?”

 

“Young,” Gavin whispered, glancing at the water. “Maybe.”

 

“Okay,” Ray was really shaking now, paralyzed by how intimidating it looked. “I-I don't know what to do. You've probably never done this either but you know what you like, right? Maybe you could guide me?”

 

Gavin happily grabbed Ray by the hips and picked him up with almost no effort, sitting him so he straddled his tail a bit below the slit. “I-I can't really get my mouth around them. Maybe one at a time?” A thumb rubbed along his lower lip and Ray let it slip into his mouth, sighing at the way the smooth thumb compressed his tongue like a caress.

 

Gavin's voice came out rough and sweet, a wicked smirk twisting his lips. “Better use for a hot, little mouth.”

 

The tongue pressed down harder and Ray whimpered, high and desperate, the words sending lustful shocks all through his lithe body. He was drawn in, thumb popping out of his mouth before his forehead touched Gavin's. The kiss amplified the shocks and that swallowing-sparkler sensation came back. He swooned with a sigh of the merman's name. The fingers in his hair guided his head down. Ray braced his hands in the shallow water while his lashes fell low, heart rate picking up as he was led straight to the slit. It flared open with the creature's arousal, the insides looking more like a girl than he would've thought. It was shining with natural juice and looked inviting. The muscles he could see were flexing wildly, hungry, ready for something larger than his tongue. Instead of being straight inside like a human girl it seemed to slope up, made specifically for something like the claspers that were pulsing just above him.

 

Ray dove in enthusiastically, the tugs on his air making him that much more desperate to make the other feel good. In a greedy way he wanted to touch and taste for himself, to know exactly what Gavin's happy noises sounded like. He let himself lay on the merman's thick tail and pick his hands up to lay on either side of the slit, parting the scaled edges to expose it all. He finally darted his tongue out and started to lick at the sides, tracing it, working his way inward in thorough exploration. The taste was clean with a musky tang that stuck to the back of his throat. He was worried about trying to find a clit but it seemed the grasping walls were sensitive enough to make up for it. They jumped under his tongue and started to contract, growing tighter, the edges closing in like it could milk him. He couldn't reach far but he made sure to lick as hard as he could, rubbing hard at the walls, head bobbing as he tried to touch all he could. It grew wetter and tighter as he went and he lost himself in the rhythm, eyes closing and mind going foggy as he focused on pleasing his friend.

 

~

 

Gavin moaned happily, carding his fingers maybe too hard through the human's soft, dark hair. The blood-hot, wriggling muscle of his boy's tongue felt delightful inside him. There was such potential and he thought of what it would be like to have his little cock inside him like this. Ray's warm breath was huffing over his slit and it pulled a human-esque groan from his chest, sharp digits twisting harder and shoving the boy's face down further.

 

Ray whined and tried to pull away but he growled warningly. The human quickly calmed and went back to licking, even humming in content. It took very little of his musical call to soothe his sweet boy. Gavin had feared that he'd have to weave him under a heavy spell and drag him into the lake by force but it seemed he was coming to him on hands and knees.

 

His little love. His precious human. The future mother of his children. _Or father. I would not mind._

 

Gavin forced Ray down tight while his other hand came up to tease his pulsing claspers. They would not release seed while his insides were stimulated by that eager tongue but it felt good to rub them, tease the tips that would hook so well inside a future mate. When he finally reached his end it was with a deep croon and a gush. The human whined, all high pitched and endearing, but he swallowed up whatever flowed into his mouth.

 

After the rush of climax left him, Gavin caught his breath and curled his hand under the boy's chin. He raised his face up to get a good look. The strange glass frames Ray wore were askew and doing nothing to hide the dazed, glassy-eyed expression on his face. His tiny mouth was slack and wet, the merman's cloudy seed smeared over his chin. It was a lovely, filthy sight. Ray's tongue darted over his lips, lapping up the droplets, blinking up at the other.

 

“Was that okay?”

 

“Sweet Ray,” Gavin cooed, swiping his thumb through the mess. “So good.”

 

Gavin must have lost some control during his finish because the boy was gone, drugged on his siren song and as obedient as a pet. The poor thing wasn't even hard, just happy to please. He gathered the human into his arms and laid down in the shallow water, settling him on his chest. He pet along his back and hair, cooing to him in his own language, soothing him.

 

Ray made an inhuman chirp and snuggled into him, quickly falling into a light doze.

 

~

 

Ray woke up embarrassed and confused a while later, thankfully cleaned by the merman's considerate touch. He stuttered out apologies but Gavin wouldn't hear it, shushing him gently and coaxing him to cuddle for a while longer.

 

“Stay.”

 

Feeling reassured in his proverbial bedroom skills, Ray laid back down on top of him and enjoyed it while he could.

 

~~

 

Sunday came without clouds and the sun warmed the chilled earth and lapping waves of the lake. The boys in camp took off on an impromptu hike and Ray took off in the opposite direction. He easily found Gavin and they played light-heartedly near the shore where the merman found him pretty rocks and shells. They were piled like an offering by his feet and he would take all of them home. He mused out loud how he would ask his dad to put up shelves in his room so he could display them properly. A small radio he had found in his closet at home before he left was turned on and playing the closest radio station. The device sat next to his gift pile and away from the water. It was his attempt to show his friend that music was made all over the world by millions of other humans. Gavin had been fascinated with it at first, but like with the phone and clothing he quickly grew accustomed and the novelty wore off.

 

With the memory of Gavin’s taste still lingering like a ghost upon his tongue, Ray brought up the subject of sex. The merman swam up to him and gave his undivided attention, saying that he would be happy with whatever the other was comfortable with. After kissing his cheek and lips and telling Gavin how awesome he was, they started brainstorming. Ray inspected the merman’s sharp fingers and knew the moment they were inside him he’d bleed out from just a brush. Gavin obediently held his mouth open for his fangs to be judged. Impressive and deadly, but not made to suckle on sensitive human flesh. He even prodded at the end of his tail. The barbs there made it dangerous even though they were safely tucked away.

 

One flare, one moment of weakness, and Ray was dead.

 

“I give up,” Ray huffed as he plopped down on the sand chin in hand. “Your freaky cool shark junk can’t go…inside me, or whatever. They’re too wide together and I can’t take one at a time or anything. You’re just too good of a predator, I guess.”

 

“Ray,” Gavin giggled in that way that meant he thought the human was being silly, “ _Inside_ me.”

 

The boy’s mouth dropped open. “Gav?”

 

“Why not?” Gavin insisted, resting a hand over the boy’s crotch and rubbing lightly. “Smooth. Warm. It would feel good…for you?”

 

“Fucking shit,” Ray cursed in disbelief, cock stirring to life at the thought of dipping into the slick grasp of the slit he’d licked open the other day, “It would feel _amazing_. I just can’t believe you’d want me to do that. You said you could kind of get pregnant?”

 

Gavin hummed thoughtfully, gaze drifting lazily over the boy. “Little Rays.”

 

“Tiny bastard human hybrid babies, you mean,” Ray joked.

 

The other didn’t find it nearly that amusing. A heavy scowl slashed across the merman’s face and the boy relented and put a hand over his. “If we ever had kids, they would be super awesome miracles. If you want to try sex that way, then I’m all for it.”

 

Gavin instantly brightened and urged the boy to get in the old dingy they’d found the other day. Ray climbed in and the boat shot through the water by the power of the merman’s eagerness and his grip to the docking rope. They cut across the lake past the dense island and to the smaller isle that held his friend’s secret spot. There were even more pretty rocks there now along with different wild flowers that grew along the shore.

 

“You didn’t have to do this, Gav,” Ray awed, touched by the gesture.

 

Gavin smiled at him and helped him out of the boat onto the moss. Ray made some room for the other to come up after he docked the boat. In the meantime the human started to strip off his clothes, feeling only a bit more confident than he had the first time they did this. Gavin liked seeing his chest, he’d figured that much out, so he even pulled off his shirt. Socks, shoes, shorts, and finally underwear. The day was warm enough that he didn’t shiver but he felt… _sinful_ sitting bare outside under a canopy of branches.

 

Gavin must have sensed this and came back quickly, scooting but beside him and rubbing a hand over his back. “Ray doesn’t want to?”

 

“Ray very much wants to,” the boy countered. “I’m just worried I’ll screw it up or hurt you. I know I keep saying it, but I’ve never done anything like this before. I won’t last long and it won’t be very good for you.” He cracked a smile. “It’ll be great for me either way but I want you to feel nice.”

 

“So silly,” Gavin scolded. He grabbed the boy by the hips and picked him up with surprising strength, sliding him easily onto his lap. The tail pulsed warmly between his thighs with a new vigor. Ray sighed as his bare groin brushed across smooth scales. An equally smooth palm laid over his cock and stroked, thumb tracing the underside. “Yes. Perfect fit. Come.”

 

Ray made a small noise when his lustful flesh was released and both of the merman's hands cupped his ass, drawing him forward. He shook his head, trying to think of another reason for them not to do this, but he barely believed his own words. He was nervous but he wanted this so badly. Like any normal teenager he'd dreamed of having sex, of getting his dick wet in the most primal need a human could have. And Gavin looked so happy, smiling at him and cooing lovingly, how could he not want to share his first experience with him?

 

His new friend, his savior, his protector...

 

Ray let the other take control, trusting him to make it good. He almost couldn't watch as the merman's scales parted and those claspers slipped free. His very human cock touched the edges and he jolted. Gavin read him well and let him calm down from the sensation. “I'm sorry, Gav, it's just so... _wet_.”

 

“Feels good,” Gavin encouraged, one hand on curve of the boy's cheek while the other came around to press a thumb along the top of his dick. A bubble of pre-cum came from the tip at the contact but he only urged it down, the slit unfolding like petals to show off the vulnerable depths. The up-curve he'd noticed the other day that made it so different from a girl fitted nicely in this position. With the merman's help he popped inside, the slick coolness that had squeezed around his tongue now hugged his dick. There was no way to stop. Gavin's slit started clenched around him and _pulling_ to suck him in faster. The hands on his ass didn't hinder the process and he was nearly full-hilt inside. It got warmer the deep he got and it felt like a tight, sucking mouth and he never could have imagined how good this felt.

 

Ray wrapped his arms around the other and slanted a sloppy kiss on his mouth, husking his name in prayer and thanks for letting him do this. Gavin seemed undisturbed, still smiling brightly and holding onto the cheeks of his ass to keep him close. The angle was perfect and the other cooed in his usual happy way, urging him to continue. “I-I'm not hurting you?”

 

“Sweet Ray,” Gavin hummed, rubbing their cheeks. “Please? Want to feel. Want my Ray's seed.”

 

~

 

Gavin was cooing almost constantly now as he stroked through the human boy's dark hair and kept a hand curled along one of the strange swells of flesh that hid his breeding hole. Ray was as eager as a youngling and reminded him strongly of the small pups that accompanied the humans along the lake with his enthusiasm. His human looked so adorable humping into his slit, sweat breaking out all over his soft skin as he worked himself up. He was whining and whimpering so endearingly, chanting his name as if that would bring more pleasure. He seemed quite happy to carelessly rut and drive inside him.

 

Gavin chittered and nuzzled the boy's throat. The space between his hips and tail was positively throbbing as he thoroughly enjoyed the sensation. Ray's human cock was small but it was so _hot_ with a little curve that pressed against some sweet spots inside him. He encouraged the boy to chase his pleasure however he wanted. They were both inexperienced with this and he was content to do whatever felt good. It surely didn't hurt.

 

Ray tossed his head back and moaned loudly, the sound carrying across the water. Gavin resisted the urge to bury his teeth in the pretty throat and settled for hugging him closer. “Oh God, Gav, I – I – fucking shit, you feel so good. It’s so _tight_. I sorry, I-I can't last.”

 

“Hush,” Gavin clicked, clamping a hand along the back of the boy's neck. “Finish for me.”

 

The human fell apart in his arms, burying his face in his neck with every muscle straining. It was a beautiful sight to witness. Gavin held him through it, caressing him and cooing into his ear. He called to him, wrapping up his mind, soothing him. Ray made the sweetest sound next to his gills and then a flood of pure warmth spilled inside him. The merman dragged him closer greedily to feel every drop flood his insides. It was everything he'd hoped for and his tail writhed in the water and underneath the boy's pretty, exotic thighs.

 

“Gavin.” Ray slumped against him, hips still moving in lazy circles, seed churning deep within his slit. The merman hugged him tight and nuzzled their cheeks, bussing their foreheads for a kiss of his own that made the boy hum. He was like a compliant little doll in his grip and he was easy to turn and lay on his back upon the moss. The small, limp cock fell out of him and his slit closed to seal in the precious seed. He gently played with the soft piece of meat and admired the way his own cloudy sap covered it, spilling all over the boy’s groin from all his reckless rutting. He’d marked his human. His essence had already seeped into the boy’s skin and started the process. He could smell it in his hair, on his fingers – he was changing already. _My receptive little boy. I will see you swell with our litter. Neither of us will ever be alone again._

 

“Don't leave,” Ray begged quietly, pawing at the merman with tired fingers.

 

“No, my Ray, my gift,” Gavin purred, weaving his tail through the human's legs as he had done before when he'd made use of his tongue. He pillowed the boy's head in the crook of his arm, other hand resting lovingly on his bare chest. He curled himself tight against him, lavishing him with kisses while he drifted.

 

“You didn't...?” the question trailed off, the human's brilliant eyes growing weary.

 

“Rest now.” Gavin pressed a thumb to the boy's lower lip suggestively. “Later.”

 

“So good to me, Gav” Ray started to fall asleep under his touch and it made him feel tender, protective. “So good...”

 

“My Ray.”

 

“Yours,” the boy breathed, turning his head into the merman's shoulder and cuddling him back.

 

Gavin's barbs gleamed threateningly within his skin, teeth catching the light as he bared them. _Mine._

 

~~

 

That night Ray barely picked at his food during dinner at camp. Hamburgers were one of his top favorite foods but something felt off about the meat. It tasted charred and rubbery in his mouth. The vegetables must have been rotten too because they were nearly sour on his tongue. Everyone seemed perfectly happy so he didn’t say anything, choosing to chug some water to fill his stomach and feign going to sleep early. Caleb was a mercifully deep sleeper and it was easy to slip out. Beer seemed to put the whole camp under and he made it out with only Kerry peeking his head out of his tent.

 

“Where ‘ya going, Brownman?” Kerry asked with concern, rubbing his eyes.

 

“Gotta’ take a piss, man.”

 

He took the growingly familiar path down the shore and stopped at the dock, heading to the end and crouching down. He dipped his fingers in the water and wriggled them, startling a little but smiling when off-color fingers emerged from the surface and laced with his own. Seeped gold strands emerged next before the large, impossibly black eyes. They stayed just over the lapping edge of the water, blinking slowly up at him while his hair started to dry in odd spikes. For being a sea creature he was surprisingly water resistant. It simply beaded and rolled off him, never really sticking anywhere but around his gills. Thin brows furrowed up before the rest of his head bobbed up. “Ray? No sleep?”

 

“Yeah, I wasn’t feeling it.”

 

The cool fingers through his squeezed. “Should rest.”

 

“I don’t know,” Ray gruffed, running his thumb along the back of the merman’s hand. “I’m just thinking about going back to school and pretending like everything is normal and I didn’t have this amazing experience. I can’t tell anyone and it just…drives that wedge in deeper.”

 

Gavin made a confused coo, swimming closer to rest his elbows on the edge of the dock.

 

“I told you I never felt like I belonged,” Ray murmured sadly, “And now I’ve finally hit this milestone, having sex, and I think it’s made me even _more_ weird. I’ve shared all this with you and it’s nothing anyone else has experienced. I feel different. Maybe it’s not even the sex, which was awesome and you were _so_ nice about my hair-trigger dick.” Gavin laughed, all bubbles and light. “I just don’t feel good in my head. It’s not something I’ve ever been able to explain but it’s hard for me to be… _happy_. And somehow I’m happy here with you and the only thing that’s ever made me feel connected to the world is holding your hand.”

 

Gavin brought their hands up and nuzzled where their fingers overlapped. “My world. Right here.”

 

“God damn it, Gav,” Ray cursed with great affection, a smile tugging at his lips. He dug out his iPod and shook it pointedly. “Remember when I tried to explain podcasts to you? Want to hang out and listen?”

 

Gavin nodded eagerly, “Boat?”

 

“Yeah, go get it, I’m going to grab some stuff.”

 

~

 

Ray tip-toed back into camp and managed to get his sleep roll and pillows out of the tent with only a slight shuffle from Caleb’s side. He packed them back to dock and found the small wooden boat already waiting for him. He lined the bottom and made it comfortable enough to lay down with his head and hips cushioned. “Take us over towards the middle over there, away from camp. I’ll pick us something good to listen to.”

 

He flicked through the podcast-heavy section of his iPod while he let Gavin easily tug the boat away to where he’d pointed. Once they were far enough Ray explained the concept of the story-based podcast and the merman seemed to grasp it as well as he had other things.

 

The night sky stretched forever in front of them, blackest over their heads and fading out as it topped the nearby city. Stars blinked down at them, the smell of the icy water filling the human’s lungs and making him zip his hoody up all the way. The player rested on his stomach and swayed up and down with each breath, volume turned up all the way to allow the heavenly voice of the host pour out loud enough for them both to hear. At first Gavin had floated on his back almost next to him and listened, watching the stars with the human, but then he started doing lazy circled around the boat. He had a lot of nervous energy for a sea creature. Ray had shared his theory about Gavin sharing some genes with sharks and the merman couldn't confirm or deny it. He proclaimed to never have seen a shark but if they were like him then he was excited to see one.

 

Ray drifted in and out, not quite tired enough to drift off but not awake enough to focus on the beautiful expanse of space in front of him. The words flowed over him smoothly and the soft splashes of Gavin coming up to check on him or drop off little shells as gifts.

 

He was in the middle of deciding whether it was worth to actually go to school on Tuesday when a particular phrase caught his attention.

 

' _I hope that we all find something – or someone – that can keep the light on a little longer against the endless pressing dark.'_

 

Ray sat up and rubbed his suddenly aching chest. There was a pressure of unknown anxiety that made every breath a little more difficult than the last. “Gavin?”

 

The merman popped up, licking his lips as he savored the taste of the small fish he'd caught and devoured. “Ray?”

 

“Please?” Ray asked vaguely, holding out his hand. The other quickly took it within both his own and smile reassuringly. “Tell me everything's okay?”

 

“Everything's okay,” Gavin repeated with that casual sympathy that spoke of great adoration. “You are here, with me. Not alone. Not hurt. Safe, my Ray, my gift.”

 

Ray heaved a great sigh and laid back down, eyes falling closed as he let himself relax. “I believe you, Gav. Thanks. I needed to hear that.”

 

* * *

 

**Hope you enjoyed all that. I worked really hard on this chapter this week to give you some good, filthy mermaid sex. I put a lot of research into it, anyhow. I would love to hear your thoughts - maybe your favorite bits or just whether you enjoyed the ride. Feedback keeps this train rolling, yeah?  
  
[New U](http://emono-omae.tumblr.com/post/98123930496/most-frequently-asked-question-updates-and-for)** [ **pdate Schedule** ](http://emono-omae.tumblr.com/post/98123930496/most-frequently-asked-question-updates-and-for)

 


	4. A Little Death

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> And so it comes.

**Check the tags. Character death (not Ray or Gav, guess who?), explicit language, mer sex (though not very good). Feedback is very much appreciated because writing has felt like autopilot to me lately and it sort of really shows in this chapter I think. So sorry if it's lackluster. I hope you enjoy it even just a little.**

 

* * *

 

Ray’s long night with Gavin out on the water felt like a dream. The merman kept swimming, making laps around the boat and inside his head. He’d barely gotten back to the tent for a couple hours before a restless feeling smothered him so badly he couldn’t fall back asleep. A while after first light he snuck out of the tent he shared with Caleb once more and headed out of the camp. His mind was too heavy. He needed some time by himself.

 

He headed to the shore where the beach met the waves gradually, one of the places he’d played with Gavin. His little red radio was there along with the stack of shells the merman had given him, all of which he’d have to pack up today. The breeze swept cooly over the water and tickled his cheeks, ruffling his hair. The sun was above the trees and light bounced off the water to make it sparkle. He lifted his hand and looked at the rosy pink line there, the cut his friend had healed for him. 

 

Gavin. They’d done so much in just a couple of days and now it was the last. He scowled at the sound of that. He didn’t want it to be the last of _anything_. He had a bike, soon he would have a junker car. He could come visit on weekends until summer. Maybe if he got a job, slacked off on school a little...then just maybe he could afford to rent a boat to help Gavin get to the ocean. After that, after Gavin got settled, they could pick a meeting spot and he could drive up for longer trips. 

 

Ray brought his hand up and chewed at his thumbnail, dragging his teeth over the skin thoughtfully. He hadn’t given a thought to his future beyond eventually getting out of the city to somewhere new but now seemed as good a time as any. He mulled over his options, what he was and wasn’t willing to do, and the first blueprints of an idea started to form. 

 

He could get a tech degree. That seemed right up his alley. Go to the best school that would give him a scholarship and get something fancy and impressive, something that sounded good on paper. He could work whatever he could find and save money. He could rent to own a home somewhere on the coast, on the beach, somewhere way out of the way and quiet. Rig up some high speed internet and get someone to build him a dock, one that went right down into the water so he could sit there half in the water with Gavin in his lap. 

 

It was a long term goal but it could work. He didn’t want to lose Gavin. It worked in  _ The Little Mermaid 2 _ , at the end at least. Land and sea meeting in harmony.

 

God, what if Gavin really could have babies? Would they be little monsters, half deformed with gaping maws full of fangs? Or pretty like Gavin, humanoid and siren-like?

 

Ray got all warm in the face thinking about little babies, human or otherwise. He’d never really been interested in a family before but suddenly he was getting butterflies. 

 

Gavin quietly popped up out of the water nearby. His ears wiggled curiously but he didn’t approach. He was waiting for permission. Ray gestured him closer and he swam up, his whole body moving like silk in the water until he got close enough to sit. Gavin looked strangely sad, crestfallen, like he already knew.

 

“This is my last day out here, Gav.”

 

Gavin pouted in a way that was very human and it sucker punched him. It was hard to pull off puppy eyes with such large pupils but it worked. Ray knelt down in the water and cupped the merman’s face. “But I’ll be back. I’ll come see you before we leave and I’ll come back every weekend until summer.”

 

Gavin frowned deeply and Ray struggled to explain. “Uh, okay. Tomorrow will be day number one. I’ll come every sixth and seventh day, okay? We’ll get a system going with shells or something and it won’t feel like a long time between.”

 

He finished with a human kiss but Gavin still looked hurt. His wrist was grabbed and squeezed. “Stay.”

 

Ray moved their hands until their fingers laced. “Please. I’m sorry, Gavin, I have to. I have to go to school, stay with my mom.” He tried to lighten it up with a laugh. “Have access to a kitchen. You know, human things.”

 

Gavin’s face scrunched up and Ray could have sworn he was close to crying, if a creature like Gavin _could_ cry. “Abandon.”

 

Ray’s mouth fell open. “What?”

 

Gavin’s sharp teeth flashed at him. “Abandon _me_. Leaving.”

 

“I’m not, I swear,” Ray promised quickly. “I’ll come back all the time. It’ll be okay.”

 

Gavin snarled and it startled him. Silvery barbs flexed in his skin, twitching like muscles. “I would _never_ abandon you.”

 

Ray jerked back, drawing his hands close in case the merman lashed out. “Gavin, I’ll come back. We’ll take that trip to the ocean we talked about. Things won’t change that much.” He wanted so badly to kiss him but he couldn’t, held back by the fear of those teeth. “Meeting you was a miracle. I’m not going to abandon you. You saved my life, I could _never_ fucking forget you.”

 

There was a faint shout in the distance before music started blaring. Gavin hissed and it sounded like it rattled in his chest, ears shuddering. “Humans. Men. _Compatible_.” He spat the word like venom.

 

“You’re so angry,” Ray murmured, heart weighing heavy. “The stuff we’ve done, Gav...I thought it was kind of obvious I don’t want them with anyone else. I want you.”

 

Gavin made a chittering noise before he dissolved into a series of sharp clicks. He pushed Ray away and started to go back into the water, long body disappearing easily in the murk. 

 

“Gavin,” Ray pleaded. 

 

The creature paused. “You’ll come? Before leave?”

 

“Yes, I promise. We’ll talk more about a plan then?”

 

Gavin started to sink beneath the surface of the water but his eyes lingered on the human. “We will.”

 

~

 

Ray went back to camp with a heavy heart. The rest of the boys were up and about, talking about going exploring before they left. Take some pictures, get some souvenirs, and Aaron seemed adamant about checking out another camp nearby with a bunch of girls from another high school. They were all restless to get one last day of spring air before they were all trapped back in school again. 

 

Caleb came up to Ray with a hiking pack strapped to his back. He threw an arm around the junior and shook him a little. “Brownman and I are going to explore one of those little islands, get some cool Instagram shots.”

 

“Gay,” Miles laughed.

 

“Nah, _smart_.” Caleb tapped his temple. “We’re taking that piss-easy art class while you guys are sweating balls in shop. We’ve got a photography project coming up and I’m going to be done with it by the end of the day.”

 

Ray sneered but he could see the logic. They _did_ have that project and it was beautiful out here. They’d probably both get As. “Yeah okay. Let me get my pack.”

 

~

 

Caleb took them out on the boat. Ray leaned against one end of the boat, pack cushioning him as he played on his DS. It didn’t take long for him to realize they were heading to the sister island of the dense one. It was where he’d fingered himself in front of Gavin, where the merman’s ‘secret spot’ was. It was their little hideaway and Caleb was going right for it. He shut his DS and put it in his bag, zipping it up safely.

 

“Maybe we should go to the bigger one?”

 

“Nah, the little one is fine,” Caleb countered easily. “We don’t want to get lost.”

 

Ray sighed. “Yeah, that’d be real shitty.”

 

~

 

They got to the island at a different spot than Ray had, away from the altar the creature had made. It was beautiful - sunlight filtering through the trees with their rich, green leaves and the sound of water all around. Birds and frogs made themselves known. The pair took a lot of pictures from several angles, some that could be doctored up to look professional enough for their teacher. 

 

Towards the center of the island they found a pond. It was deep and clear but there was a layer of murk further down. It seemed the vegetations filtered some of the muck near the top. Caleb got a few good pictures of it before shoving his camera in his pack. He got out his canteen and plopped down in some thick moss. “Come here.”

 

Ray reluctantly shuffled over and sat down beside him. He thought maybe they’d watch the water, shoot the shit about school, but hope for that faded fast. 

 

“Maybe we’re not meant to be a couple,” Caleb mused out loud, the other rolling his eyes. “I can accept that. We’re pretty different people.”

 

Ray scowled. “Thanks, Denecour.”

 

“I just mean we want different things,” Caleb explained. “I’m going to get on a college team and you’re-”

 

“Just another computer geek,” Ray finished with an unamused drawl. “If you’re trying to break up with me - newsflash, you have to be together first.”

 

Caleb patted his knee and it made him more sour. “I just don’t want to break your heart.”

 

“Faggot,” he grit out. 

 

Caleb’s head whipped to the side, mouth open like he’d been slapped. “Hey!” What the fuck? I’m not fucking gay and that shit is _not_ okay to say.”

 

“Don’t get me wrong, you’re not a faggot ‘cause you like to fuck boys, you’re a fucking faggot because you like to fuck boys  _ on the side _ and play it straight in public.” Ray’s lips drew back in a snarl and he felt the frustrated urge to bite. “Because you want to get in my pants and not get feelings involved. You’re a fucking faggot because you try to kiss me one second and then shove me off a boat and don’t even look for me. Because you’re a classic white boy who just wants to get his dick wet and you realized paying attention to some geek boy for two months was easier than courting a hot girl for the whole school year and scoring on prom? Right?” Caleb’s whole face was slack in shock and he felt a sick jolt of triumph. “ _Right_? Thought so.”

 

Caleb bristled. “You think you’re so smart? You know how pathetic you are, nearly eighteen and still a virgin? Do you even _know_ what the kids at school say about you?”

 

It was Ray’s turn to flinch. “Shut up.”

 

“They call you a loner and they’re not fucking nice about it,” Caleb spewed without an ounce of hesitation. “You’re a fucking freak, Ray. You always have been.”

 

“What the fuck have I done, or haven’t done? Huh?” Ray insisted, drawing his feet up and hastily getting to his feet. “What ‘guy’ rules didn’t I follow?”

 

“You’re just _weird_ , okay?” Caleb admitted as he followed the other boy to his feet. “You freak us out a lot the way you stare off and say those monotones jokes about death and shit. You sound half alive most of the time, you realize that? I only started being friends with you because I felt bad for you, and you’re kind of cute.”

 

Ray’s lips pursed into a colorless slash across his face, arms crossed defensively. He was starting to feel sore, cracking at the edges. “I’m weird and I’m a virgin, so I don’t belong? So you’re a dumbass on top of all that homophobic crap pile? Nice. What a _great_ boyfriend you’ll make someday.”

 

There was a weird look on Caleb’s face, a serious one that Ray couldn’t pinpoint. “Maybe you’ll feel and act more normal if you just get laid?”

 

“Getting laid is literally the last thing that would make me feel better about this shitstorm,” Ray scoffed. “Where did all this come from? Why are you telling me this now?”

 

“Because now’s the perfect time to do something the rest of us do,” Caleb pointed out. “Let’s bang, get it out of your system. And it’ll really loosen you up! Ask any of the guys. Having someone get you off really helps your social skills.”

 

Ray winced hard. “What the fuck? Do you know how gross you sound?”

 

“I just want to make you feel good,” Caleb pleaded. He almost sounded sincere but Ray could see the lump in the other’s shorts and he knew he was thinking with his dick. He’d heard the same spiel before in a dozen after-school specials.  _ Just want to make you feel good. Just one time. Just the tip. I’ll make it good for you. I won’t tell anyone _ . Ray was pulled from his thoughts but a hand grabbing his own. “It’ll be good, man. You’re going to love it.”

 

“Caleb. Listen. I don’t know how I can make this more clear.” He jerked his hand away but Caleb’s grip was tight. “I’m never going to fuck you. I _barely_ want to be friends with you.”

 

“You’re in love with me,” Caleb reminded him with a matter-of-fact tone that spoke of years of spoiling and being an only child. Selfish and smug and _sure_.

 

“Not anymore, man, probably not before either. So fuck off. I’m done.”

 

“Done?” Caleb echoed dully.

 

“With this, with you. Get off me.” He tried to shake the other off but Caleb took both his wrists, holding on tight. “Get off me! I’m not doing this anymore. Go have your big gay crisis somewhere else. Go fucking find some other charity case to stick your dick in!”

 

“Ray!”

 

“Let go!” 

 

Panic cut through him and he dragged Caleb with all his strength, throwing his weight. Caleb was all muscle but he was still slim. The older boy stumbled forward and passed him, letting go in surprise. Ray moved out of the way and ended up tripping himself. He landed hard in the grass, palms aching at the solid impact. After a moment to catch his breath he looked to Caleb, watching him catch himself before he could fall into the pond. Long arms flailed briefly before he turned around with a cutting glare.

 

“Fuck this,” Caleb seethed. Ray’s stomach bottomed out at how venomous those words sounded. “I don’t know why I was wasting my time. You’re not worth it! You listening, Narvaez? You’re not worth _shit_!”

 

Ray’s hands fisted in the grass as tears prickled his eyes. It hit home _hard_ , harder than he would’ve thought to hear out loud. All of those old, isolated feelings came rushing back and all he could think of was how he really didn’t belong. Caleb was right and it made his stomach sour to even think it. He never felt like one of the boys and it wasn’t a gay thing. It was something else, something deeper inside of him. He wasn’t wired like them. And not in a stupid special snowflake way, just in a way where he couldn’t fit in even when he tried.

 

Caleb’s voice came back in pulses. The other was still talking.

 

“I’ve got half a mind to just leave you hear and -  _ what the fuck _ ?”

 

Caleb looked down and Ray followed his gaze, choking loudly on his own spit. Something colored a painfully familiar blue-grey was wrapped around the senior’s ankle. There was a silver stripe winding through it. Caleb looked at him the same moment he raised his haed, two sets of wide eyes meeting and jaws dropping dumbly.

 

It was Gavin’s tail coming out of the water, wound around his ankle like a snake. And then it tugged.

 

Caleb’s scream bounced off the trees as his legs were swept out from under him. The sound cut off when he slammed face first into the ground, the wheeze he made sounding as if his lungs were threatening to collapse under the impact. His breath was stolen but he managed to grab at the ground to try and anchor himself. He was dragged painfully slow through the grass, blades slipping through his fingers as he was pulled ever closer to the water.

 

“What the fuck is that?” Caleb shrieked, neck craned to look over his shoulder at the sleek muscle. “What the _fuck_? Ray, get it off me! Get my knife, get my-!”

 

Hands lashed out of the water and seized him by his jean shorts, fingers curling in the rough material and his belt to drag him into the pond. Water splashed high as Caleb flailed. He kept calling Ray’s name like it would help, arms moving wildly and sloshing up more waves before one final _yank_ made him disappear beneath the surface.

 

Ray’s heart was racing so hard he was panting. He stared dumbfounded at the pond and watched the ripples fade out. 

 

“Gavin,” he breathed, voice barely audible even in the quiet of the small forest. “G-Gavin, don’t…”

 

Ray swallowed thickly and sat himself up. His eyes never left the water. Bubbles were popping up along with new ripples. Something dark started to drift up, something thick. Ray didn’t dare move but it looked an awful lot like blood. But that couldn’t be true, Gavin would _never_.

 

Caleb burst out of the water with a heaving, rough yell. Ray gaped at the sight of him. Thick chunks of flesh had been bitten out of his arms and shoulders. The wounds were shiny and scarlet, gaping like angry mouths. The boy had blanched of all other color except his wide, terrified blue eyes. Caleb threw himself onto the grass and scrambled forward, whimpering and running on pure adrenaline. Ray was struck with a bout of trembles and covered his mouth. He wanted to throw up but he had nothing in his belly, just bile that churned. There were ribbons of red laced all over Caleb’s body.  _ Claw marks.   _

 

“Ray! Help me!” Caleb pleaded desperately. His fingers sunk deep into the damp earth as he tried to pull himself out of the water. Something splashed out behind him, something else heaved itself up out of the water. _Gavin_. But it was Gavin like he’d never seen before. His barbs had unlaced from his skin and were fully extended, sharp and flaring out from his body like a second cage of claws. The merman’s mouth was gleaming with blood, fangs soaked in pink froth. He let out a feral cry as his spines rattled threateningly.

 

Ray found his voice. “Gavin, don’t!”

 

Gavin descended on Caleb without even a second’s pause. One hand lashed around and hooked deep into the boy’s face. Caleb’s cheek shredded and flesh gave under claws with a gurtled yell. Claws clacked across teeth as they were exposed in a morbid grin. Fingers caught on the top of his jawbone and Caleb’s head was jerked back, Gavin’s lips curling in a snarl before sharp teeth sunk easily into a bared throat. The human thrashed and got bent further back for his trouble, body contorting at an unnatural angle. There was a sickeningly wet _crack_ as Caleb’s spine snapped from the pressure, lithe body jerking once before going limp in the creature’s grasp. 

 

There wasn’t a handful of heartbeats before Gavin dragged the body back under the water.

 

Ray turned over and threw up the water he’d chugged this morning. It was just a splash in the grass, hot specks landing on his fingers. He dry heaved and his stomach felt like it was turning itself inside out. The smell of pond scum and blood clogged up his nose and lungs. He choked and sputtered until there was nothing left in him but convulsions. He pushed himself away from the mess and tried to stand to get his bearings but he only ended up stumbling a few feet away before he flopped onto his back. 

 

The sun hit his face and and he laid there, rasping for breath and stung in disbelief. His mouth was sour. He couldn’t accept what he’d seen. His Gavin, his sweet Gavin. He could still hear the bubbly little giggles, the excited chittering when Gavin got too wrapped up in what he was talking about to remember the human words. The little games of chase and splash they had, skipping rocks, all those swims together. The trills of delight, the fun they’d had, the _kisses_. The intimacy they’d shared and the secrets. 

 

It all felt too unreal now. A fever dream.

 

The water sounded like it was torn open, ripping at the seams for Gavin to burst forth again. Poisonous barbs flexed out high before retreating within his flesh to create those pretty patterns once more. The creature lunged forward before Ray could pull away and his ankles were grabbed. Ray tried to wrench away but those fingers were like steel. The human flipped onto his front and tried to drag himself away, fingers scrabbling uselessly in the grass just like Caleb had. 

 

There was nothing that could help him. 

 

“Gavin? Gavin!” He could still see Caleb’s shocked face, the pink bloodfoam sticking to the merman’s teeth. Gavin was snarling at him and the sound morphed into a series of clicks that struck him in the gut. He’d forgotten that this was a sea creature - possibly half shark and one hundred percent lethal. A maneater. 

 

Ray sniffled and he realized he was crying. He didn’t know how long he’d been doing it but tears were rolling heavy down his cheeks and dripping off his chin. His hands were trembling, his whole body was. The tremors went all the way down to his lungs.

 

One thought struck him to his core. _I want my mom._

 

“I want to go home,” Ray croaked. He couldn’t control his shaking and his entire chest felt hollowed out in unbridled fear, true terror like he’d never felt before. Gavin’s hands felt like shackles. 

 

“You are home,” Gavin stated, voice at a rolling growl now. His smirk softened. “My Ray. My Moon gift.”

 

Ray couldn’t even begin to understand what that meant. His eyes darted to the pond and there was blood frothed up in the water. Bits of clothes floated to the surface. Even worse, hunks of what looked like flesh. He gagged but not even bile came up. “No, no, I was wrong.” He clenched his eyes shut but then he could see Caleb’s eyes, hear the cries ringing between his ears. He pressed his face to the cool grass and wished he prayed, that he had something to do besides cry. “I...want to see my bed again.”

 

Gavin clicked behind him, just once. “Home.”

 

Ray let out a stuttering breath and formed a half-plan. He carefully turned over and attempted a smile. Gavin softened even further though his grip didn’t slack. The merman leaned down and lightly rested his chin on Ray’s stomach, covering his legs. He cupped Gavin’s face and thumbed over his smooth cheeks. He got a smile for that, a real smile, and it gave Ray some hope despite the blood he could see lingering in the creature’s gums. “It’s me, Gav. You know it’s me, right? It’s Ray, it’s your Ray. Y-You wouldn’t hurt me.” He so badly wanted to kiss the merman but those teeth now frightened him. “I’m your friend, remember?”

 

“More,” Gavin gurgled. His hands slid up the human’s legs and around his waist. Claws sunk into his shirt and started to shred. The cloth gave as easily as Caleb’s skin had. Ray squirmed uncomfortably and the tips nicked the skin. “Ma- _ te _ .”

 

Ray’s heart dropped. That was it. That was the word Gavin had been struggling to say since the day they met. It popped out from between the creature’s lips like a heavy bubble, and he seemed proud of it.

 

“ _ My _ ma- _ te _ .”

 

Gavin started dragging him closer and his heart picked up a harsh pace again. The creature’s tail slithered in the water, stirring it up, and it pulled them both into the depths. “Please don’t, Gav. Don’t eat me, don’t fucking do it.”

 

Gavin shook his head with a chirp. Ray’s toes touched the water and it felt like a shock. It was as cold as the lake. The creature paused when he saw the human’s face and smelled his pungent fear. Gavin whined in the back of his throat. “Be quick. Won’t hurt. Would never hurt my gift.”

 

Ray swallowed heavily and dug his finger as deep into the dirt as he could. A bolt of defiance struck him. “You sure are articulate before you fucking murder someone.”

 

Gavin’s claws sunk in more deeply and it was quick, as promised.

 

~

 

It was strange what you noticed when you thought where you were going to die. 

 

The water was sunwarm when he struck it. Gavin’s claws felt like iron hooks in his hip and he got one full breath before the water swallowed him up. He reached for something, anything, fingers straining towards the sunlight. The loud rush of water filled his ears and it got colder the deeper they went. All he could see was the sun flowing in from above and refracting off the water. Flowing plants obscured his view, twisting in the faint flow. It was all becoming a pinpoint, juts of rock passing by. A grew rush of current took off his glasses and tried to catch them but his fingers were going numb.

 

With one great _pull_ , it all went pitch black and he realized they were in the lake. 

 

All of Ray’s courage drained out of him. All his fight fizzled out as his system flooded with pure horror. It was as crippling and icy as the water and it ballooned his insides. He couldn’t see anything but blurs of faint light, couldn’t feel anything besides Gavin’s hands on him. His skin prickled like it was going to splinter. Water rushed into his ears and eyes, nose, threatening to flood his throat. His lungs burned and shriveled inside his chest. His thoughts were nothing more than a stream of pathetic, helpless words that swirled down the drain as he started to struggle for air.

 

Ray was shoved further down and he brushed by what he was sure was Gavin before he was pushed against something solid. His back hit the lake floor and he could feel the grit of rocks and sand through his clothes. But there was nothing to see, nothing to grasp onto. It was all just endless, pressing darkness. 

 

Then there was a flare of light and it hurt to look right at. Gavin was above him and he _illuminated_. It was just like that night at the lake where he was drowning but it had only been in his cheeks then, a glow. This time the light slid through every vein and spidered out like lightning beneath the skin. His eyes were still depthless pools of ink. He looked unearthly, ethereal, fluid grace and danger above him. A demon. An angel. 

 

Gavin’s grin was manic and he was sure this was it. He’d be drowned and devoured. 

 

Gavin’s hands wrapped around his throat and easily pulled him into a human kiss. Their lips  met and the contact seared Ray so badly he tried to tear himself away. The creature’s hands flew to his wrists and pinned them into the sand. It was different than the first kiss they shared, different from the mer kisses. There was something _pouring_ into him but it wasn’t the chilly wash of watery death but something else. It was bubbling up out of Gavin’s throat and gushed across their tongues. It was thick and oily, bittersweet but _sharp_. He fought against, afraid of what poison he was being forced to swallow, but Gavin’s lips were sealed tight over his own.

 

The strange liquid filled him up as he hurried to swallow it to keep from drowning. It curled around his lungs and soothed the breathless burn there. It flooded his heart and pumped out into the rest of him. It stung his veins before dissolving into tingles. His legs felt like lead and he wasn’t breathing but he didn’t care, it didn’t feel… _urgent_.

 

He was swallowing sparklers again, little crackles and heat flowing down and biting at him from the inside out.

 

Gavin let go of his arms. Hands slid over the back of his neck and his cheek, cradling him. 

 

Then he heard the music.

 

It was Gavin’s music, his siren song. Chimes and flutes, tinkling like rain on tin but not just in his ears. He could feel the music following the oily poison through his body, sinking into his organs and blood. It was a slow build up and Ray felt himself lapping like waves at a shore he couldn’t describe. There was an ebb and flow of his soul and each retreat was further than the last. 

 

Images and sounds came to him, memories in brief flashes. His mother’s face and the way she would whistle when she was frustrated. The smell of his room after returning from a long trip. Doritos, Coke, his grandma’s _pastelon_. The sound of the class bell, sneakers on old white tile and buzz of a thousand conversations. The feel of his game controller, the rasp of his headphones against his ears. Their old couch and how it always smelled like cigarettes though no one smoked in the house. The chunk of asphalt missing in the street outside their steps and how it showed off the brick from a time way before his life was even a thought.

 

Each image slipped away from him, disappearing into the water.

 

His home, his family...it dissolved. It washed away until there was nothing left.

 

~

 

Gavin’s gills flexed in a relieved sigh as the last of the slick dripped into his mate’s mouth. He’d been so unsure as it started to burn its way out of him but he trusted it, trusted the magic. It had all come to him from the Moon, the great Power That Be. She had sent him the knowledge and ritual to make Ray his in all ways. The dream had come and then the slick had started to drip out of his mouth. It had frightened him but the Moon sent more sweet dreams to assure him that it was a gift, a product of years upon years of mer taking humans as mates. 

 

Ray was his gift from her, and he would take all of him.

 

The human was changing already. He could see it and taste it when he licked his throat. If the dreams were true, Ray would be his very own by the time the sun set. Until then he would keep them both deep and safe. He took Ray and eased him through the water until they were firmly tucked between two sleek rocks. He tucked Ray close and wrapped his tail around him, cradling the boy’s head against his chest. He stroked through raven hair and pressed kisses there, savoring the feeling. 

 

Soon he would have this all the time.

 

Blood hit the water as his mate started the physical transformation. He could see flesh ripping at the seams already, the first crop of scales showing themselves. It was everything he’d thought of since he started dosing the boy with his magic, letting it flow from their kisses and his slick. 

 

He would be there every step of the way to comfort his mate and in the end they’d be happy

 

~

 

When Ray woke up he was truly himself and not himself. He drifted into consciousness a little at a time and in many ways he was grateful. He choked at first when he felt the water in his mouth but after a few struggling heaves it felt natural to let the water inside. Fingertips massaged his neck and he felt something flutter before he started to breathe again. The process was smoother than before.

 

Ray frowned when he realized he didn’t know what _before_ meant. Before what?

 

His mind was a pleasant blank slate and in lieu of memories there was just a void. He tried to remember something beyond his name but the only thing he could hear was the sound of the water and pure music. It was a symphony and he let himself sink into it, riding the waves.

 

He was sore like he’d been in pain for a while but it was gone now. He felt raw and _more_ somehow. There was an emptiness inside him he couldn’t pinpoint, like an organ had been removed. Something was gone.

 

He heard clicks and chitters but they warbled into words. His mind was just sluggish on catching up. “Ray? Are you awake?”

 

Ray’s tongue was lazy behind his teeth and he struggled to remember how to talk. It was different than...than whatever was  _ before _ . He struggled to catch up on what his mind was telling him to do to communicate. It was like he hadn’t talked before and it almost hurt as he started again. “Gavin?”

 

That sounds he made, they meant _Gavin_ and it all translated and suddenly he was overwhelmed. 

 

His face was cradled between two strong hands and they pulled him out of the music and into the world again. Lips brushed his, skimming all over his face to make sure he was okay. He opened his eyes and there he was. Gavin was breathtakingly stunning. He didn’t remember things about them, what they’d done, but he remembered all the beauty that was his mate. Flowing grace and strength above him, looking at him with such love. It made his heart lurch and he found himself making some sort of soft crooning noise, calling to his love.

 

Ray had music now too. He couldn’t hear it but he could feel the hum of it and how it reached out to his mate. Gavin’s music swelled in response and together the notes tied together, twining deeper and deeper until there was a physical tug between them. A bond. 

 

“My love, my mate.” Gavin’s hands slid down his neck, thumbing at something there. Gills. He was breathing. It all made sense. Ray held up his hand and there was webbing there low on his fingers, and his skin was like Gavin’s now. He frowned and curled his fingers. He didn’t know what it was different from but it just  _ was _ .

 

The strangeness of the gills and the webbing was starting to fade already. Suddenly he couldn’t remember why he’d been looking at his hand when he could be kissing Gavin.

 

“Mate.” Ray took him by the shoulders and brought him down until their foreheads met. He cried out at the all-encompassing pleasure that burst through him. He’d never known a simple gesture to be so gratifying. The kiss lit them both and surged together, coiling around one another and hands roaming over bare flesh. Their mouths brushed almost idly and he knew it to be another kind of kiss though he wasn’t sure where he’d learned it. He managed to pry his eyes open and he looked down the lengths of their forms. 

 

They had long matching tails that were coiled around each other. Skin the color of storm clouds and silver streaks like lightning striking through it. It seemed foreign but only for a few seconds before he was straining to get closer. They rubbed cheeks and the sweetest purring sensation tickled his chest and he found himself responding with a similar sound.

 

Heat was growing between them and he chittered curiously, begging his mate to know what it was. Gavin pulled back and ran a hand down his chest, grinning wickedly. “My heated mate. Ready for me. Ready to be bred.”

 

Ray nodded eagerly, eyes wide and gills fluttering wildly at the prospect of young. He rolled his hips up into the other and begged to be shown. Gavin’s fingers splayed over the soft scales beneath his belly and it made him shiver. The touch was so sure and fingertips traced a line down the more solid scales, tickling something sensitive. 

 

“It’s so strange.” Ray squirmed. 

 

“I am here,” Gavin promised, pressing their cheeks together reassuringly. 

 

Ray gaped at the way his scales gave way and exposed a small, pink slit that quivered at his mate’s touch. He barely had time to admire this sensitive place before they pressed tight again. Gavin moved against him and he followed the rhythm the best he could, grinding against his mate as pleasure rolled through him.

 

His head was so fuzzy with such new sensation that he didn’t realize what was happening at first. His lower half felt so warm and wet and something _gave_. It was a sweet ache but something opened, and then there was pressure against it. He felt sliced open below his belly and something was sliding inside. 

 

Ray could taste blood in the water and it was _his_. 

 

Gavin hushed him as he started to whine in distress and paw at him. “It only hurts for a moment. Be still, be good. My mate.”

 

Ray pushed up his mate’s shoulders long enough to look between them. Gavin’s claspers had disappeared inside a fresh slit that had opened among his own scales. The ivory appendages were smeared in blood and they slid deep inside. After the pain faded there was a fullness. Whatever was within his slit was strong and grasping, bearing down hard on his mate’s lengths. They fit so perfectly and pushed against his tender walls.

 

Gavin moved against him in unhurried grinds that dragged his claspers for just enough friction to make them both cry out. There was something buried within him that begged for seed, for his mate to breed him like this no matter how peculiar it all seemed. Ray started to clutch at him for a different reason, wanting him closer. 

 

“Yes,” Ray begged, claws threatening to sink into his mate’s skin. “Yours, Gavin. All yours.”

 

“ _Mine_ ,” Gavin growled against the soft of his throat, buried inside his mate’s pretty little slit. He was going to spill soon with how hungrily he was being squeezed. “Claim you. Always be mine.”

 

Ray nodded frantically and hung on as his mate’s thrusts started to get harsher. He buried his face in Gavin’s shoulder and let himself unfocus, swimming in the high of pleasure and the symphony of his mate’s music. 

 

Gavin’s teeth set in his shoulder and the sharp pain paired with a sudden cool flood inside him. Ray quivered as the claspers swelled within him and then poured something into him. _Young_. Ray chittered sweetly and arched up, greedily taking every egg and begging quietly to catch.

 

“Want to give you a youngling, mate, want to carry for you, give you a family.”

 

Gavin pressed their foreheads and he whined at the flare of heat. “We will have _everything_.”

 

The world narrowed down to where they were joined and the promise of new life. 

 

~

 

Ray cooed and laid on his mate, resting his cheek on his chest and letting their tails slowly twine together once more. It felt so intimate to pressed so completely, so _right_. He was so alive and complete with his mate. His stomach felt swollen, everything below his belly cool and stuffed. It was with their babes, just eggs now. He didn’t know how he knew, but he was sure one or two would fertilize and swell to become their children. Little ones of their own, pieces of them to care for and love.

 

A family. He wanted it so bad he could taste it.

 

Gavin’s fingers curled in his hair and his gills fluttered happily 

 

Whatever was before didn’t matter anymore. He had his mate and it was all he needed. 

 

~

 

The lake that was their home wasn’t very big but it was a fun place to explore. Ray asked Gavin why he didn’t remember anything before the moment he woke up in the sand but his mate only promised him that it was nothing worth remembering. 

 

“The past is not important. Only now.”

 

Ray agreed. He made laps and memorized every nook and cranny. Gavin warned him of the humans and to stay away, that they would hurt him without hesitation and it was safer in the water. He spotted those humans and swam the other way to escape beneath an overhang of trees to get out of their line of site. It was a beautiful little place where the water crept up onto the sand. He wanted to feel the breeze on his skin so he carefully slithered up and sprawled in the sand. It felt so soft on his arms and with the wind brushing over his back it was blissful. His whole body felt new.

 

Ray caught his reflection in the water and he combed his fingers through his hair to smooth it out. He smiled at himself and admired the sharpness of his teeth, the dark pools of his eyes a contrast to the ivory fangs. Gavin had done nothing but praise his looks and pet over him with absolute reverence. It made him feel beautiful. 

 

There was something strangely familiar on the tiny beach. There was a pile of shells that were too beautiful to be naturally stacked together. They were lovely but there was something else there. It was red and square, nothing like he’d ever seen before. He reached out and tapped his claws against it. They clacked against it.

 

This all felt very...important. 

 

“Ray!”

 

He whipped around and saw his mate hastily waving at him from above water.

 

“Ray, come! It’s not safe!”

 

Ray startled, ears twitching harshly while a little whine sounded in the back of his throat. If his mate sensed danger he believed him completely. He dove into the water and cut through the soft current, diving deep. He nearly butted heads with his mate and he chittered, brushing their noses and mouths soothingly.

 

“I’m okay, I’m okay.”

 

“Don’t,” Gavin pleaded, hands rubbing over his waist protectively. “It’s too dangerous. Stay close to me, mate. I’ll keep you safe.” 

 

Ray nodded and smiled, their tails teasingly brushing against each other like they were courting. “I know, my mate. You’ll protect me.” He took the other’s hand and slid it around to his stomach that was still so tender. “Protect  _ us _ .”

 

“Always,” Gavin swore fiercely, staring down at his mate’s belly as if it held everything he could ever want.

 

And it did.

 

~

 

The stone beneath Ray’s back had been smoothed by years upon years of current and it felt good against his back as he writhed. His mate had caught him in a game of chase and pinned him here. Gavin was so much stronger than him and he loved it, crooning and giving in to those insistent hands. His mate spoiled him in every way - giving him the best pieces of meals, bringing him wreaths of land flowers to wear, and mating with him every day in so many ways. But always in the deepest parts of the lake. Gavin brought him such grand pleasure, it was all he could do to just keep up.

 

Ray’s cry dissolved into a flurry of bubbles as his mate licked open his slit. His feelers didn’t protrude anymore now that he was pregnant but his slit was more sensitive somehow, growing wet with just a few pets and opening up whenever his mate so much as rubbed against him. It was magnificent torture.

 

One hand was pinning him to the rock and the other was splayed over the swell of his belly. It wasn’t much now, just a tiny hill of tight flesh, but it was much beloved. Gavin was cradling the mound as he licked deep into his mate, long tongue slithering against the grasping walls. His mate was ravenous and merciless. Ray was helpless beneath him, tail swishing in the water as he melted beneath the other mer. 

 

Ray cupped his mate’s head with both hands and rode his tongue as much as he was allowed. His pleasure was coming to a peak and his sounds were getting higher, sharper. His claws left shallow grooves in Gavin’s scalp but his mate didn’t care, he only growled and licked faster to drink up all the clear slick bubbling up.

 

Ray keened and crested, a shudder wracking all through him. He clung to Gavin and whimpered weakly as his mate moved up and brushed their mouths. Their tails coiled tight and Gavin covered him, kissing all over his face before pressing their foreheads for a low, slow burn to help him ride out the aftershocks.

 

“Beautiful,” Gavin purred, the heel of his palm massaging next to his mate’s slip to help it seal shut once more. “Beautiful mate. You taste so perfect.” He scrubbed their cheeks together and Ray happily chirped. “Sweet all the way through.”

 

“Flatterer.” Ray brushed their noses as they cuddled together, twining as close as they could. 

 

Gavin’s fingers massaged over the curve of his belly and hummed thoughtfully, bubbles streaming out from between his lips. Ray playfully darted his tongue out to catch them, laughing when his mate let out a startled laugh. “What’s wrong, my mate?”

 

“The ocean,” Gavin admitted reluctantly, fingertips drumming lightly on the tight mound. “Can you hear it?”

 

Ray nodded slowly. There was another song calling to him besides that of his mate. This one was subtle but strong, a constant hum in the back of his head like a lullaby. 

 

“We need to make a decision,” Gavin stated, tail fluttering nervously within his mate’s grasp. “If we go, we go now while our little ones are still so small. Or we wait until they are born and old enough to travel.”

 

“We could go to the ocean?” Ray mused, awed at the prospect. They could be out in a real ocean, closer to the Moon with room to truly breathe. They could raise their young in the place they were meant to be, not such a small lake. They could be completely free. From the dreams the Moon sent them, the ocean was both more dangerous and more safe. There would be no humans to come for them but there would be predators. Ray would have to toughen himself up and learn to defend himself, his mate, and his young. They would have to carve a place for their family and protect it but it was so possible. “We should.”

 

Gavin perked up, ears twitching. “Truly?”

 

“Truly,” Ray echoed, smiling brightly. “We should go now before the little ones come. I’m still fast, and I know you’ll keep us safe.” He frowned suddenly as images flashed across his mind. He clenched his eyes shut and tried to really see them but they were fading fast, coming in broken pieces. It was markings on paper, a blue trail, compass - a map. 

 

Gavin cupped his cheek and the flashes stopped. He slumped into his mate and tucked his head under his chin. He let himself drift safely in Gavin’s arms and the comfort of his song, the flow of his music. It grounded him.

 

“Do you know how to get to the ocean?” Ray asked quietly, mouth pressed to his mate’s throat.

 

“We will follow the Moon, she will guide us,” Gavn promised, fingers curling along the other’s nap. “She brought you to me. I trust her.”

 

Ray made a small little sound before he clicked out. “Gavin, was there...something...before?”

 

Gavin stiffened. “Before what?”

 

Ray opened and closed his mouth a few times but couldn’t form the words. “I don’t know. I’m sorry.”

 

Gavin squeezed his nape and rubbed his cheek into his mate’s hair. “Hush. Relax for me.”  _ Don’t fight it. _

 

Ray slowly melted against him and Gavin grinned to himself, stroking the sweet mer and calming. Soon Ray would forget even passing thoughts of his human existence. The young they had would only cement the transformation and their destiny would forever be laced. Their new life would start, and that life waited for them at the ocean. 

  
He would rip Ray from this lake and take him far away from anything familiar. He couldn’t risk more relapses like this. They needed the ocean.

 

 


	5. Epilogue

The trip to the ocean was hard forged. They had close encounters with humans, boats, a few sharp nets, and the water had grown more shallow than not on the journey. The Moon sent them dreams and the followed the call of the ocean, but they still got turned around a few times. They’d often huddled at the bottom of rivers and lakes and prayed for safety, for guidance.

 

But the first burst of ocean water made every trouble dissolve into pure elation. The claustrophobic rivers and low lakes became distant memories as they threw themselves into the endless waves of the ocean. It felt like it stretched on for an eternity and when they got lost it was met with smiles instead of terror.

 

That was a year ago now. Their struggles were long over. The worst they had to worry about were the sharks and some of the more poisonous wildlife but Gavin was a natural in intimidation. Most days were peaceful and the few confrontations they found themselves in were more exciting than dangerous. And in that time, Ray had an easy birth of twins among the anemone and a curious pod of dolphins who seemed more excited about the babies than the mer.

 

The two little ones came into the world with a small crowd of loving sea creatures and two proud parents. From the moment they could swim on their own, the two took to the ocean and bonded with the sea life in a way their parents struggled with. They were sweet and carefree, innocent, untouched by the human world.

 

Naia, their boy, was in love with the larger creatures. He was fascinated by jellyfish and all types of dolphins, whales, even some more docile sharks There were a few weeks a pod of whales came into their area and Naia rode their backs like horses. They loved the little mer and he clung to them with loud, squealing giggles and kept on them for miles. When they came across seals Ray had to put some steel in his voice to say no to Naia when he begged for one of the pups. He had to explain that littles ones needed to stay with their families.

 

“Maybe when you’re older.”

 

Atella loved the little things, the tiny ones. Guppies, turtles, starfish, and every sea horse they crossed was her best friend. She didn’t try to keep them as pets, she knew better, but she liked to build them little homes and nests to make them “comfortable”. She was kind and soft hearted, but when a predator swam by she was right there with her fathers to flare out her spines and snarl them away.

 

They both had dark shocks of black hair and silvery spines, almost twins. And they were Ray’s pride and joy.

 

~

 

“Gavin?”

 

Gavin’s lids fluttered open to look at his mate. Their little ones were snuggled between them on a bed of kelp they’d dragged into the cave they were staying in, making a nest. Naia was tucked closer to his chest and he could see all the little dark freckles that peppered his son’s shoulders and chest, a few kissing his cheeks. He had a sharper face shape, like Gavin, but his laugh sounded just like his birth father. Atella snuffled beside her twin, nuzzling into his back. Her hair was longer and braided to keep untangled. Shells were weaved in some of the strands, Ray’s doing, and she looked like a little princess.

 

Gavin reached across their young and cupped Ray’s cheek, thumbing just below his eye. They all should have been sleeping but Ray was wide awake.

 

“Mate?”

 

“Thank you,” Ray chittered quietly.

 

Gavin smiled. “For what, my love?”

 

“For our younglings.” Ray ran a hand over Atella’s arm and she smiled in her sleep. “This family, this life. Helping us get here. This is more than I could ever ask for.”

 

The older mer gave a throaty croon. “We were always meant to be. Mine.”

 

Ray leaned into the other’s hand, purring.

 

“Are you happy?”

 

“I am,” Ray confessed with a shy smile. “And there’s something else.”

 

“What is it, my mate?”

 

“I think I’ve caught again.”

  
  
  


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**[Fanmix!](http://8tracks.com/emono-omae/all-that-was-me-is-gone) **


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